Unova's Downfall
by Legolas Dragon Ranger
Summary: Giovanni's latest plan for world domination ends up sending one of Team Rocket's Elites to create chaos in Unova and make a chance for a false heroine to 'save' the region. But when she arrives, she finds herself wrapped up in Team Plasma's affairs, the most despicable man alive, and a cute boy with a problem. Can her goal be accomplished, despite all these distractions?
1. Chapter 1

**Unova's Downfall**

 **Chapter 1**

 _LDR: I've taken waaaay to long getting this up, and for that I apologize. But it's finally here! My reboot of Unova's Downfall! **A few things will be different**. For one, Dallon is no longer a character, Ash and Co. will only appear at much later parts of this story and only on rare occasions, Ash himself has absolutely no history with Rain, and two more OCs of mine will feature. This is also no longer a SYOC story. Sorry. I won't say anymore, else I'll be spoiling! _

_On another note, this might seem...weird later on. I am writing this with the existence of Kalos/Fairy Types/Mega Evolution, but at the same time there could end up being a few events from the Unova games/anime._

 _Lawsued, the Disclaimer Pokemon: LDR doesn't own Pokemon. At all. She only owns her own original characters and ideas._

 _LDR: Phooey. Well, on with the story!_

* * *

The repetitive _thunk_ , _thunk_ , _thunk_ of a forehead smacking gently against the wall of the copter, accompanied by a bored moan, was the only thing keeping the teenager committing these actions from dying due to the utter dullness of this flight. She eventually just slid sideways out of her seat, on purpose of course, to sprawl across the floor. Dark blue eyes fixed themselves upon the roof as one hand lifted to idly trace a finger down the result of her long-going and violent feud: a long scar, most likely from some sort of knife, than ran vertically down the left side of her face, nearly taking out her eye. The other hand moved as well, flicking some of her chocolate brown locks from her face. For the purpose of anonymity on this mission, she had forgone her uniform - a wonderful piece of tech known as the stealth suit - and had opted to wear common Trainer attire: an unzipped black jacket, a lavender t-shirt, blue jeans, and a pair of study sneakers. Though she wore black, there was my a single trace of red anywhere in her outfit. She was taking no chances, whatsoever. Even just wearing the black and red combination has the possibility of raising suspicions, and this was much too important to be parading around in Rocket's colors. Hanging around her neck was a wonderful little trinket she'd...found during a mission in Kalos; the Key Stone gave her an extra edge in battle, especially in the regions outside of Kalos and Hoenn, where Mega Evolution was seldom heard of, or seen in use.

"Gen! Gengar!" Her shadow stretched out, lengthening to split itself in half. One half returned to normal, while the other half turned to a dark purple Pokemon with a rounded body, short arms and legs, and a wide, sinister grin.

"Nice try, bud. But you didn't startle me in the slightest." Rain rolled over onto her side, facing the Gengar. "I could sense your Aura beginning separation before my shadow even moved."

" _Bah. Cheater._ "

"It's not cheating! I can't exactly just turn off the ability to use Aura!" The teen rolled her eyes at the Gengar.

" _I know. Anyway, I popped out because something feels wrong._ "

"Oh?" Rain turned and gave a holler in the pilot's direction. "Oi! Grunt! My Pokemon's telling me something's up! Keep an eye out!" She received a faint reply of acknowledgement, nearly inaudible over the outside sound of the copter's whirring blades. "Thanks, Watcher."

" _The Watcher,_ " the Gengar corrected.

"Right. Sorry, The Watcher." With a nod in reply, the Gengar slid back into the teen's shadow. Alert now, Rain returned to her seat, closing her eyes as she focused on the area surrounding the copter, keeping watch through use of her Aura.

* * *

A pause, from the narrator, to explain Aura. It is a form of spiritual energy, and is described as the essence of every living thing. It's been revealed that some humans have the capability to use Aura. It can be used for a variety of things, giving the user many unique abilities, such as the ability to read minds and actions of another being, to "sense" other Auras and view surroundings even with a blindfold and also allows users to view through some objects, or the projection of one's Aura; such as to create barriers or attacks. Rain has trained nearly her whole life with her ability, and can use it very versatilely, creating basic shapes, weapons, and armor with it. However, she is no full-fledged Aura Master and continues to train and learn new things.

* * *

It wasn't even half an hour later that the Rocket Grunt piloting the copter called out to alert Rain that they were crossing the regional boundary into Unova. The flight had been uneventful, despite the ominous feeling The Watcher had had, and Rain was beginning to doubt his warning had any validity. "It looks like your feeling wa-"

" _Turn back!_ "

"Dammit, where'd they all come from?!"

"E-Elite! We're being fired on!" the piloting Grunt informed her.

"I'm very aware of that, idiot!" The copter rocked from side to side in the air, causing Rain to grab her seat to keep still. When the motion stilled, she hurried towards the closest door and slid it open. Half a second later, the fourteen year old girl was forced to duck to avoid a vicious barrage of Shadow Balls and Dark Pulses. The attacking Pokemon couldn't be seen, and none of the attacks let up long enough for Rain to focus on scanning with her Aura. One hand had just started moving towards her belt, where her Pokeballs were situated, when another round of attacks came...this time aimed at the copter's spinning blades. What happened next was too fast for Rain to keep up with.

Her fingers wrapped around a Pokéball. The combined attacks obliterated the copter's blades, causing it enter a spiraling descent. And Rain fell from the open door.

Though she'd be embarrassed to admit to it later, the teen entered panic mode pretty much immediately. All trains of reasonable thought shut down and her mouth opened wide, the wind that was rushing past her ripping out a scream and carrying it away. The ground drew closer and closer, and she thought she saw a group of gray-clad people fleeing the scene. Then her eyes slid closed as she continued to fall.

Just seconds away from the hard earth, The Watcher separated from her shadow and halted her fall, catching and holding her in place with Psychic. It took a few seconds for panic mode to switch off, and once she was back in her right mind, Rain profusely thanked the Gengar for watching out for her. He lowered her to the ground before disappearing into her shadow once more.

Then the copter hit the ground in front of her and exploded, the force flinging back and slamming her into something hard. Black obscured her vision before she could ever see what she'd hit, and it barely took a second for unconsciousness to overtake her.

* * *

 _The door was slammed open as the brown-haired girl excitedly skipped into the Elite Lounge, draping herself over the back of a rather plush couch. "Guess who's going to Unova!"_

 _"Big deal." Onyx eyes were rolled towards the ceiling briefly as the thirteen year old boy crossed his arms. "You've already been to Unova, when you were on your little 'steal all the starters' spree."_

 _"Oh, hush Solom," a different girl reprimanded. Though his twin, they shared no similarities in appearance. Her hair was fiery red and hung to her shoulders, and her eyes were bright purple. Whereas his skin was pale - vampiric-ly so - and clear, hers was lightly tanned and her face covered with freckles. He was already taller than average for his age, like their father, while she was shorter. He wore a dark gray dress shirt, red tie, black blazer, black slacks, and black loafers. She wore a rumpled and creased black shirt with a red 'R' plastered across the front, a pair of dirtied jeans, and worn sneakers._

 _"Why can't you be friendly as Alanna?" Rain shifted her weight forward, falling over the back of the couch to, somehow, end up on her butt, smushed between her adoptive siblings._

 _"It's not even your mission," Solom continued, scoffing. "You're just going to create as much chaos as possible until Alanna waltzes in and kicks you out, stopping Rocket from taking over Unova, becoming a heroine-"_

 _"I'mma be a drug," Alanna interjected with a snicker._

 _The onyx eyed boy gave her a withering glance. "A heroine is a female hero, Alanna. Now is not the time for your inappropriate behavior. Have you been at that repulsive whiskey again?"_

 _"Maybe a little."_

 _"Alcoholic. And you're only thirteen."_

 _"Like you're any better with your wine!"_

 _"At least my choice is much classier than your peasant's liquor."_

 _"Look at you, acting all high and mighty just because Dad decided you were gonna take over Team Rocket after him. Your title might be 'Prince of Team Rocket' but you ain't a real prince!"_

 _Rain just watched the twins bicker, an amused smile crossing her face. She reached out to sling an arm around each of their shoulders, then quickly withdrew with a short hiss. "Ow."_

 _"What's wrong, Rain?" Alanna was instantly alarmed, her hands lighting up with the blue energy of Aura. Like Rain, the redhead could use the rare power, though she focused on healing rather than fighting._

 _"Oh, I fought with Proton earlier. He actually sliced into my arm pretty good. I'm no Healer like you, but I still managed to close the wound. It's just a little sore."_

 _"When are you going to cease your senseless feud with the Executive?"_

 _"When you and Archer stop being pissy to each other."_

 _"He merely dislikes the fact that he was demoted from Father's second in command so I could take his place."_

 _"Exactly!" the two girls chorused. They shared a glance and dissolved into giggles._

 _"Females..." the Prince muttered under his breath, shaking his head slightly._

 _"I heard that. Well, whatever. I leave in two days. Gotta go say goodbye to my Agents and the Triad, then pack and get training!" Rain stood up on the couch, bent her knees, and jumped straight up, doing a backflip at her highest point and sticking the landing, behind the couch._

 _"Show-off!" the twins accused simultaneously._

 _"Yes I am!" Rain grinned, waved, and slipped out of the Elite Lounge to make her way towards the Special Lounge. She would have been completely content to bypass the Executive Lounge on the way, but Petrel wasn't really as bad as the other three and she kinda wanted to tell him she'd be leaving. With a resigned sigh, as she just knew all four Executives would be there, she halted in front of the door and shoved it open._

 _"Oh, if it isn't the Team's resident orphan."_

 _"Shut it, Proton. You're as much an orphan as I am," she directed, adding in a growl as she threw a glare the green-haired man's way. "At least I didn't stab my own family to death."_

 _The Executive snickered, his green eyes glinting with amusement. "You need to come up with some new taunts. Then again, you're only a small child, so what's to be expected."_

 _"You're only five flippin' years older than me, jackass!"_

 _"Such language..." a female voice drawled, interrupting._

 _Rain didn't spare the red-haired, crimson-eyed woman a single glance. "You can shut up too, Ariana."_

 _Her attention was pulled towards a third occupant of the room, this one with teal hair and eyes as he spoke, mockingly civil as ever. "Was there something you needed, Rain?"_

 _"I didn't come for you either, Archer, so you shut that trap as well. I just wanted to let Petrel know," she turned to nod in the direction of the purple-haired Executive, who returned the favor, "that I was leaving for Unova." She stepped back, out of the Lounge and pulled the door closed with a little more force than necessary. A sigh left her as she started off towards her original destination, with plans to bid Koga, Sabrina, and Lt. Surge goodbye too._

* * *

With a short groan, Rain's dark blue eyes slid open. She hurt all over. Trying to lift her head, she found she could barely move it an inch, and the back of her skull was caked with blood. She could feel something warm and wet trickling slightly down her back, probably also blood. Her shirt was in shreds, her jacket destroyed, and her pants ripped. Nearby, the wreckage of the copter continued to burn, and she thought she could make out the charred corpse of the Grunt that had flown it. Then a dark shape stood over her, blocking out the sun. She thought she heard a soft male voice say something about Pokemon, and she caught a brief glimpse of green before she blacked out again.

* * *

 _LDR: First chapter! Whatcha guys think of this? Executives get to make a tiny appearance, my two other main OCs show up... Oh, regarding that topic! In case it wasn't clear, Solom and and Alanna are the twin children of Giovanni. This is because I like having Silver as an anti-Rocket person, but also like to see children of Giovanni's within the Team. Therefore, the Rocketto twins were born! I support DiamondShipping, so they're the children of Giovanni and Delia Ketchum, though Delia left for Red and had Ash, making the twins Ash's step-siblings. Rain is Giovanni's adoptive daughter - why that is will come up later - and is an orphan, as was stated in this chapter. And yes, she can understand Pokemon, mainly due to her Aura and because of a reason that I shall not yet spoil. Together, Solom, Rain, and Alanna make up the three Rocket Elites, and are all just one rank below Giovanni, placing them second in command. Solom, though, is somewhere between the rank of Elite and Boss, as the Prince, and is the heir to Team Rocket since Silver rejects them. Hope that clears things up!_

 _Leave a review, it motivates me to get another chapter written! The more reviews, the more I work, and the faster the next chapter goes up! R &R, hope you enjoyed, don't flame, and LDR out!_


	2. Chapter 2

**Unova's Downfall**

 **Chapter 2**

 _LDR: Okay, I'm going to start this off being frank. I am highly disappointed in the lack of reviews/favorites/follows my last chapter received. I can tell people have opened up this story and read it. As an author, I have something in my 'Manage Stories' tabs that allows me to tell how many views this story has received. I am writing this story because I want to; it's a fun hobby for me. However, I am not posting because I want to. I am posting so other people can enjoy this. However, if I get no reviews/likes/follows, I have no idea if anyone is actually enjoying this. If I continue to get no indication that anyone is enjoying my writing, I WILL stop posting._

 _My one-shot about Rain and Koga will probably end up becoming a series of one-shots for this story. Times with Team Rocket ranging from when she joined to when she set off for Unova, exclusive little tidbits of her travels through Unova, etc. If you're interested in seeing anything there, leave a review on it, or PM me, or something to let me know what sort of one-shot story you'd wanna see about her._

 _My disclaimer is in the first chapter. If anyone would like to see it, you know where to look. I'll not be posting any more disclaimers for this story. ...except this one. I do not own Alanna of Trebond. Tamora Pierce does. I merely draw great inspiration from that Alanna for my Alanna Rocketto. In appearance. Only appearance._

 _Well, on with the story!_

* * *

Rain awoke to unfamiliar surroundings. And pain. She'd barely had time to catch even a simple glimpse of the room she was in before the agony hit her and her attention was quickly focused on nulling it. Arceus, what she wouldn't give to have Alanna here! Her shoulder was the worst, and she could see that a thick layer of bandages covered it. Her back ached as well, as did her head.

Wait.

She could see her shoulder wrapped up in bandages.

Her shirt was supposed to have sleeves.

Someone had removed her shirt while she was unconscious, and hadn't even bothered to put it back on to protect her decency.

A sort of growl rumbled softly from the back of her throat before she sighed. At least she's been bandaged up. Whoever had found her must want to help her. With a sigh, she laid back in the bed she'd found herself in, unable to alleviate the pain at all. Healing with Aura was her adoptive sister's specialty. Rain's was combat. For some reason, it was easier to close up a wound than it was to numb pain. Trying to pull her mind away from the ache, she glanced around the room. It was rather bare, and tiny. The bed she was in was more like a cot that had been set up in an effort to keep her barely comfortable. In one high corner of the room was black video camera, clearly visible against the annoyingly white walls and ceiling. The floor was white too, as was the single, heavy-looking door. There were no windows.

"Huh. Maybe I wasn't found by someone who wanted to help," she muttered.

Throwing back the single sheet that covered her, she carefully swung her legs over the side of the cot and eased herself onto her feet. Once she'd discovered that she could stand just fine, she took a tentative step forward. Again, she was stable. Making her way over to the door, she halted by it and lifted a foot, slipping her shoe off as she looked at the door handle. Likely it was locked. Just about to open up the hidden compartment within her shoe, she halted as she realized there was no visible lock on the door. No keyhole, no nothing. Her lock picks were useless without a lock to pick. So she replaced her footwear and instead reached for the handle, jiggling it. It wouldn't turn. So it was locked after all! It must lock from the outside then, and its intent was clear: prevent whoever was inside from getting out.

With a 'tch' noise, her hands started for her waist. The typical Nidoking's tail could snap a telephone pole like it was a toothpick. Her Nido was much more than an average Nidoking, and he could crumple up a slab of steel like it was tin foil. She blamed his larger than average height and muscular bulk. He could get her out of this, no issue.

Big issue.

Her Pokeballs were gone. Her bag was gone as well. Rain cursed under her breath. She didn't dare risk using her Aura to break the door down, or smash a hole through the wall. Who knew where she was, how many other people were around, if she had guards... The list of the unknown went on and on. Usually, she and her Pokemon could handle any situation thrown at them, just fine. But she didn't have her Pokemon, and one thought kept returning to nag her. There was a high possibility that her Pokemon were in the hands of her captors, and she was certain that whoever her mysterious captors were wouldn't hesitate to threaten her partners - her family - to ensure her cooperation.

So until she had her Pokemon back by her side, she could only wait. She couldn't sense The Watcher's presence within her shadow either, so no help there. Returning to the cot, she sat down, the growling sound from before returning with even more intensity.

* * *

Rain had no idea how much time had passed since she awoke in her white prison. At first, she'd amused herself by making all sorts of rude signs in the direction of the camera, then loudly cursing her misfortune, as well as her captors. When she'd tired of that, she'd just let herself fall back to lay on the bed with a groan. And laid there. And waited. And waited.

But now her hearing, enhanced to be better than the average human's by her Aura, picked up voices from outside the room. She hopped off the cot and snuck over to the door, pressing her ear up against it in time to hear the soft _click!_ of the door being unlocked. It was shoved open faster than she expected, and the white-painted metal rammed into her, sending her stumbling back. Her injured shoulder slammed into the wall hard; hard enough to bring a small yelp of pain through her clenched teeth. She turned a glare on the single male that had entered, before the door slammed shut behind him.

He appeared to be only a couple of years older than herself, perhaps two or three. His eyes were a lighter shade of blue than her, and his long, unruly hair was a rather pretty tea green color and pulled back into a ponytail. He wore a white shirt, the collar unbuttoned and opened to show the black shirt beneath it, a pair of tan pants, and green sneakers. A black and white cap rested atop his head, white a necklace that looked a bit like a planet hung around his neck. Around his right wrist was a somewhat wide black and white bracelet, while three golden, square-shaped bangles were around his left. Hanging from a short cord at his waist was what looked to be a golden-colored Rubik's cube, with the center panel of each side being black. After a minute or two, he gave a hesitant smile.

Why did her face feel hot?

* * *

N hadn't been expecting a sound of pain to be the first thing he'd heard when he'd entered the room. Almost immediately, he'd begun to reach out towards the girl, a little concerned. He halted however when she fixed him with a fierce glare, before glancing over him. He studied her in return, relieved to see that, although her shirt had been destroyed, whoever had been placed in charge of her care had at least covered her chest with several layers of bandages. It had been amazing that she had even survived what she'd gone through, much less with little injury.

Her emotion seemed to remain unchanged, and he hesitantly smiled, wanting to show he didn't mean her any harm. That smile faltered a little, morphing to a look of concern at the rapidly spreading pink that had appeared on her cheeks. Was she alright? His hand once again moved towards her, the tips of his fingers coming into brief contact with her cheek before she squealed and pulled back. The small touch was all he'd needed though. Her face felt hot. Like she was sick. Had her shoulder become infected? The pink was quickly darkening to red, and N finally spoke up. "Are you feeling alright?"

* * *

"Are you feeling alright?"

Rain eyed the teen in front of her as he spoke, still a little shocked from the sudden feel of his cool fingers on her warm cheek, and embarrassed by her reaction. Her previous hostility towards him had been forgotten as she nodded quickly. "I'm fine." She inched back towards the cot and sat down. "Just hurts. What happened?" A thought sprang forth in her mind and her blush disappeared as her eyes narrowed angrily. "Where are my Pokemon? And the Gengar that was in my shadow?"

"You were in a crash. The helicopter you were riding in was shot down on the order of my father." She thought she saw a flinch when he said 'father' and frowned just slightly. "He said it was from Team Rocket, and that they were trying to invade. But there was only one Grunt piloting it, and you inside. I found you at the site of the crash. The force from the helicopter's explosion had sent you flying into a tree, hard enough for your shoulder to be impaled on a branch. You should have suffered from a broken spine or cracked skull, because of the impact, but your back just has a collection of bruises and your head injuries are only minor."

"I'm a very resilient person." Her eyes narrowed further. "Who are you, who shot down the copter, and where are my Pokemon?"

"My name is N."

"Oh. You're that King of Team Plasma. I'm guessing your group is the one that shot the copter down?" Rain scowled at him. "Oh, don't look so surprised that I know who you are. Team Rocket likes to stay very informed, while giving out as little info about us as possible."

"Your Pokemon are confined in their Pokeballs and shut away somewhere. I... I don't know where. And your Gengar is being held as well, though there was no Pokeball for him."

"Of course there wasn't! He's technically a wild Pokemon! I rescued him from a horrible Trainer, and because of experiences he's had, he absolutely refuses to enter a Pokeball. But he also wanted to stick with me. So he lives in my shadow! As for confining the five Pokemon I had with me to their Pokeballs, _how dare you!_ You have no right to keep them locked up in there. With me, they are free to come and go as they please, but you and your people went and shut them up in those little capsules." Her scowl had twisted itself into a snarl by this point, and N was looking both alarmed and rather frightened.

"I'm sorry." Rain's tirade stopped, bewilderment taking over her face at his shaky tone. His head was bowed, his shoulders hunched...she was astounded to see such a submissive posture from the one who was supposed to be the leader of a Team. Granted, he did look a little young, but still... "I had no say in the matter," he whispered. "I hate it, that they're being held captive. I'm sorry."

"...what?" The teen once more rose from the cot, taking a few steps towards him. Like her hearing, her sense of smell was increased by her Aura, and she could scent something that she was very used to. Wet, and slightly salty, tears were something she'd often shed herself. Ducking down a little bit to see from beneath his bowed head, and ignoring the pain in her back that resulted from doing so, she peeked at his face. Her nose has been correct. Tears slipped down N's cheeks. With a soft frown, she used her Aura to gradually make a link between their minds. Normally, this link would be used to communicate telepathically. But she chose now to use it to sift through his emotions. She sensed...fright. There was sadness there too, but it was mainly fright. Curious as to the reason for this, she began to peek through his memories.

"Stop. Please."

The fourteen year old hesitated before cutting off the link, giving him a baffled look. When he'd first entered the room, she'd been nothing but angry. Then she actually got a good look at him, and that anger faded. He was incredibly damn cute. However it hadn't taken long for the anger to return, but it was even faster that that hostility became this confused jumble of emotions. Truth be told, she didn't know as much as she had insinuated. Only his name and position. "Umm... I'm s-sorry?" she offered, realized it had been rather rude to just start probing his mind. He probably figured she was some weird psychic now. "I just wanted to know why you're crying." She backed away a little. "Did I say something wrong?" Some sixth sense told her that something else was going on here. Something wrong.

"No." She heard him draw in a shaky breath. "Your Pokemon want to return to your side. It's...unusual."

"Why is it unusual for my family to want to be reunited with me?"

"Family?"

The disbelief in his tone caused a surge of anger to rise up within her, and she moved so close their chests were nearly touching. He lifted his head to look at her in surprise as she jabbed a finger in his face. All concepts of personal space had caused the concept of 'personal space' to go out the window as she started to rant. "Yes, _family_! Is that so hard to believe? I lost my parents - both of them, my only family - to a fire when I was eight years old! For _two frickin' years_ after the only living thing that cared enough about me to look after me was the Nidoking that used to belong to them. Two years, I was raised by him. He treated me like his own. The Lucario in my party? I found him as an Egg, cared for and hatched that Egg, then raised the Riolu that emerged. He's trained with me in many skills, and we grew together. My Dragonair? She joined my group of her own free will, leaving her home in Johto's Dragon's Den to travel with me. She has no wish to evolve and I won't make her. She's like a big sister to me, and provides the support to keep my team together. Gallade? The best big brother I could ask for. Cubone? I took the poor boy in after a mistake on Team Rocket's part left him an orphan. Servine? Yes, I might have stolen him as a Snivy, but he didn't come unwillingly. He wanted to grow strong, and I agreed to help him. He's a great little bro," she raved. "And I already told you about my Gengar. Pokemon are not tools, and I will give a proper beating to _anyone_ who says, or treats them, otherwise. Even injuries like these won't stop me."

N looked sufficiently cowed by her threats, but spoke up anyway, albeit in a small, quiet voice. "I-I share your thoughts on the matter."

"I've heard plenty of people say that to save their own skin." Astonishment entered her mix of emotions as he just bowed his head again. "What is _wrong_ with you? You claim the title of King of Team Plasma...and act like _this_? Haven't you heard of self-confidence?"

He just shook his head, gesturing weakly to the camera. "I can't tell you that. He'll already be angry I came to see you."

Rain raised a brow, leveled a hand at the camera, and fired off an Aura Sphere, destroying it.

Hey, she'd only decided she'd wait on escape, not be totally cooperative.

"There. Who's going to be angry?" She let her hostility drain away once more and went to sit on the cot, patting the spot next to her, then hissing in pain as she realized she'd used her bad arm. "Look, I don't mean to yell. I don't know much about you, except your name, you title, and the way you see Pokemon." Well, that she'd hadn't known until she's probed his mind. "I'm just frustrated that I was injured, that I was captured, that I'm stuck in here, and that I dare not try escape for fear of my Pokemon being harmed because of it. I'm sorry I vented on you, but you were the first living being to enter this room after I woke." She offered a small smile. "I don't think I ever gave you my name, huh? I'm Rain." The male slowly started moving towards her. "No precipitation jokes allowed," she added jokingly. He lifted his head and let the barest hint of a smile touch his frightened face. "Why don't you just sit down here next to me, and you can tell me what's wrong? Don't try to deny it. I know something's up, and I know it's not good." She continued to quietly talk to him, telling him random crap about herself that most people wouldn't really care about, coaxing him gently over to her as if he were a startled Deerling. He was so different now than when he'd first stepped into her room, not to long ago. Timid, shy, and frightened. She couldn't help but be curious as to what triggered this change. Finally, N was seated on the cot next to her, though he remained quiet. Rain occasionally glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes, trying not to let pink creep to her cheeks. He really was so cute! That could possibly be why she wanted to help. After all, she was usually a pretty selfish person when it came to other humans. Pokemon were a different matter. Her hand slowly snuck its way towards his, though she had to reach across her body to keep her bad shoulder still. He started slightly when their hands met, giving her a nervous look. "I promise I won't start yelling again, alright? You take the time you need to start. I want to help you, but I can't do that unless I know what's wrong..."

After a few more moments of silence, N nodded. "I'll tell you."

* * *

 _LDR: Whoo! That one was longer than the first, which was my goal! My chapters are usually around 2,000-3,000 words, but I'm trying to increase that count, making them longer and more detailed. In the next chapter, I'll be writing N's backstory. Or at least, my version of it. Speaking of N, before anyone leaves me a review saying that he seems OOC, I am purposely writing him differently than he is portrayed in the games/anime/manga. I support the theory that he suffers from child abuse at the hands of Ghetsis, and that it's broken him. Much of the Rain x N pairing (which a very close friend of mine named ExtremeIdealsShipping) will be her helping him get over those experiences, come out of his shell, and start acting like the IC N we all know and love._

 _I think that's it, so until next time dear readers! R &R, don't flame, and LDR out!_


	3. Chapter 3

**Unova's Downfall**

 **Chapter 3  
**

 _LDR: Feedback! I love it! Thank you so much to Xenan for being the first to review this story, and Kira RaKash for being the second! Thanks as well to Reaper-of-Lost-Souls for favoriting and following it. Not much else to say, I think, for this beginning A/N, other than what is to follow mainly comes from my imagination. This story is an AU that just happens to have some events from the anime, and possibly the games as well, so not everything is canon. Some things are though. Enjoy!_

* * *

"I'm not sure how I ended up there, but I grew up in a forest. My family and my friends were the Pokemon. A pair of Zoroark acted as my parents, raising me along with their three cubs. None of the Pokemon ever seemed to care that I was different than them, and I was very happy growing up with them. Occasionally, I would think about how unusual I looked compared to them, and eventually one of the Zoroark told me that I wasn't Pokemon. I was human, found alone in the woods as a very small child."

"Told you?" Rain interrupted anxiously. "You can understand them too?" She gripped his hand gently, trying not to blush as she did so. "I suppose it's got something to do with both of us being raised by them, though you certainly seem to have spent much longer doing so."

"Yes." N glanced down at their hands. "What are you doing?" There was genuine curiosity in his voice, as if he didn't know the gesture's meaning.

"Um." She quickly snatched her hand away. "S-sorry. And for interrupting. Why don't you continue? I'll keep my mouth shut."

He gave a small nod. "I'm not sure how old I was when it happened - I'm not even completely sure of my age now, because I don't know how many years passed in the forest - but one day another human arrived. He claimed to be my father, and said he'd been searching for me. That he was so happy he'd finally found me and he was going to take me home. He gave me no say in the matter, ripping me away from the forest, its Pokemon, and everything I knew. I was taken to this castle-"

"The hell? We're in a castle?! I thought it was just some base!"

"Yes, we are in a castle."

"Woah. I've always wanted to see the inside of a castle. I mean, Dad's got a really nice mansion and stuff, but it's not a castle. Though he could probably easily afford one..."

"I thought you said your parents had died."

"They did. I was adopted though, by my boss. His daughter kinda forced him into it, but after a little while he actually started thinking of me as a daughter, so it all worked out in the end."

"That sound nice." N's tone seemed wistful, and Rain curiously took note of it. Silently, of course.

"Yeah... Ah darn it, I interrupted your story again. I'm sorry! Okay, I promise I'll be quiet now!"

"It's fine... I was brought here and shown to a large room. It held many toys, and at first, once I'd stopped crying, I had fun. But I was never let out of the room, and my father rarely came to see me. And never allowed others to do so."

"Never let out? That sounds terrible! But how did you eat and, uh, use the bathroom?"

"Meals were delivered twice a day, but I never saw the person that brought them. As for the second part of your question, there was a small, adjacent room that served as a bathroom."

"Oh. Still, it must have really sucked, being locked up in that same room. I'd go nuts!" She frowned around the white room that she herself was currently locked in. "I'm gonna go nuts if I don't get out of here... Ah! I interrupted a third time! I'm so sorry, please continue."

"One day, I received playmates. A pair of girls, older than myself, that Father said were my sisters. But they only stayed for a few days. The next time I got a visitor it was a group of Pokemon. They told me stories, of cruel humans called Trainers. They said that Trainers had captured them, taken them from their homes and confined them to small capsules called Pokeballs. They were treated horribly, and forced to fight against other Pokemon, even when they didn't want to. They fought because they were told to, and they got hurt because of it. Then their Trainers would hurt them more if they lost the fight. I spent a long time with those Pokemon, and more with similar stories were allowed to come play with me."

"Are those the only Pokemon you ever got to know? Ones that had been mistreated and abused? That's not right, exposing a child to such horrible things..."

"Those were the only Pokemon that Father allowed near me. Their stories upset me, and made me angry. Why would anyone do that to my friends? Not long after, Father came to talk to me. He said that he was the leader of a group called Team Plasma, and that they wanted to separate humans and Pokemon, so that Trainers could no longer hurt my friends. He told me that I had a very special ability, being able to understand Pokemon, and he asked me if I wanted to help. I agreed, and he went so far as to crown me the King. I was finally allowed to see the outside world, and I began to hunt for an object called the Light Stone."

"I've heard of that! The legendary Pokemon Reshiram was sealed within it for a long time, until a Hero found the Stone and freed her..." Rain gaped at him. " _You?_ "

"H-how do you know that?"

"Reshiram told me. Duh."

"What?"

"You remember that energy I used to destroy the camera? That was Aura, like the kind of energy used by Riolu and Lucario. See, the thing is, I'm part of a very small group of humans who can use Aura. We're called the Aura Guardians, and we basically serve the legendary Pokemon, helping them watch over and protect humans and Pokemon alike."

"But you're a member of Team Rocket."

"I lead a double life. The legends know it, and many Rockets know it. As long as I keep one side's issues out of the other side's business, I'm all good."

"I don't quite understand..."

"It is kinda hard to understand. But we're talking about you, not me!"

"Yes... Father had said that Reshiram would be able to help our goal. He told me stories of the legendary Dragon of truth, and its Hero. He told me that Reshiram would recognize me as a Hero, because of my intentions and my pure heart. So I began to search for the Light Stone. In my travels, I came across many different kinds of humans. I was confused to discover that none of them were the cruel monsters I had been told stories about. They all had wonderful relations with the Pokemon that accompanied them. They treated them with kindness, and the Pokemon were happy being with them. I returned empty-handed to tell my father what I had seen. I told him that I wondered if it really was necessary to separate humans and Pokemon, when so many seemed happy together. He grew angry at the doubts that I had, claiming I was being disobedient." N looked down and hugged himself, tears welling up in his eyes. "That was when it started..."

After a minute or two of silence, Rain realized he'd need some prompting to keep going. She scooted a little closer, looking concerned as she lightly touched his shoulder. "What started, N? What is going on?"

"He hurt me. He said that I had to be punished for my disobedience, so he hurt me. Then he told me that unless I found the Light Stone, I wasn't to return, or he'd hurt me more. So I went. I continued my search, and I eventually found it. I awoke Reshiram, but my father tried to take it from me. He wanted it for himself."

"Reshiram got angry, and left... She told me about that."

"Yes. As it turns out, he only wanted to separate people and Pokemon so he would be the only person still allowed to use Pokemon. He wanted to rule over the world, and he needed the legendary Dragons to do it. But when Reshiram left, he took his anger out on me..."

Rain stood and moved to sit on his other side, so that she wasn't forced to reach across her body in order to keep her injured shoulder still. She gently put an arm around N's own shoulders, moving closer until their hips were pressed together. Watching tears spill down his face, she twisted her hand around to begin threading her fingers through his (wonderfully soft) tea green hair. "Why? Why are you still here then? Why are you still the King of Team Plasma?"

"I tried to leave. Tried to run. He caught me." He let out a strangled sob. "For days after that, I was locked away in the dungeons while he tortured me for trying to run away. He said that while I was a...'a twisted and warped freak without a human heart' I still wasn't completely useless to him. I never was the King, and I still aren't. I've only ever been a puppet for him, a way for him to gain what he wants and commit horrible crimes without being the one to be known for doing them." He hung his head. "It's likely that's all I'm ever going to be... I've tried to run away twice since then. Both times I was caught and punished, the torture getting worse each time. Last time, he nearly killed me. He enjoys it, I suppose, seeing me in pain. Every time I do something he doesn't like, he hurts me. Everything I do, he manages to find a fault with, and takes every opportunity possible to punish me for being a failure..."

Rain was absolutely _furious_ by now. "And now you've come to visit me, something you apparently weren't supposed to do..." She tightened her grip around his shoulders. "You stay here. In this room. With me. Eventually, he'll have to come to get you." This brought a frightened noise from the crying teen, which only served to make her angrier. "Then when he does, I'm going to kill him."

"It won't work. He'll just send members of Team Plasma to fetch me," N replied quietly. "Then I'll be punished again for disobeying him...for being a bad boy..."

Under different circumstances, Rain would have giggled at his use of such a childish term. Right now though, she was just too angry. His next words, spoken softly and dully, made her snap.

"He's right about me..."

"No!" The girl reached over to place a hand on either cheek, wincing as her injured shoulder moved. She forced him to look at her, meeting his gaze while her thumbs swiped gently over his cheeks and beneath his eyes, wiping away tears. "If you think like that, he wins. You've clearly suffered a lot here. It's easy to see that you're a broken person. But you're not twisted or warped in any way, and you certainly are no freak. Your heart is probably more human than mine. N, you can't let him keep using you like this. You have to leave."

"I've tried!" he cried, giving her a desperate look. "I've tried and I've been hurt for it. Hurt and...other things."

"Other things?" echoed Rain, sounding confused.

"H-he - he likes to demonstrate how powerless I am against him...by..." The boy trailed off, gaze moving down. Concerned and furious, Rain continued to gently wipe away his tears, while at the same time firmly keeping his face towards her, murmuring a soft prompt to continue. "He forces himself on me to prove that I'm powerless against him...he knows I hate it, and so he continues to do it. He makes it hurt too."

Rain was silent for a second as she let that sink in. Then a snarl ripped it's way from her throat, and her hands dropped. She rose from the cot and turned to the nearest wall, slamming her fists into it repeatedly. "That shitty bastard. What kind of sick, hell-spawn son of a bitch treats anyone like that?" She continued to rant and rave, shouting and cursing furiously, punching the wall. This guy claimed to be N's father, yet abused him physically, mentally, and sexually (Not to mention an activity like that between two people of the same gender made her a little uncomfortable. She could respect bisexual people, she just wasn't one.), used and controlled him like some puppet, made N be the one to do his dirty work so that his reputation wouldn't be tarnished, and had, in general, broken the boy. What kind of father committed such despicable atrocities? A sort of whimpering noise pulled her attention towards N, and she saw him staring at her, eyes wide with fright. Turning back to the wall, she noticed her fist was embedded in it, cracks spread out around her knuckles, and was glowing light blue with her Aura. A closer inspection revealed tinged of red to her Aura, causing her to gasp and step back hurriedly, near the point of hyperventilation. She closed her eyes, trying to calm herself. It only served to quicken her breathing though, as images flashed through her mind.

 _A brown-haired girl with dark blue eyes, red energy swirling around her, growling._

 _The same girl, red energy exploding around her and reducing surrounding, black-clad people to ashes._

 _The girl, sitting in a corner with her knees pulled up to her chest, crying. Turning to scream at an approaching trio of people, red energy lashing out at them as they drew closer._

 _A heavily injured group of people and Pokemon, a red-headed girl and a larger than average Nidoking among them, with the brown-haired girl sobbing nearby that it was all her fault for getting angry and losing control._

Rain was startled out of the memories by a hesitant hand on her shoulder. Realizing she'd fallen to her knees and buried her face in her hands, she tilted her head back to look up at N, who seemed unsure of what he was doing. She must have look confused, because he shifted slightly, mumbling, "It's what you did to me, and it helped. A little."

"I-I'm alright. It's just that...Aura is directly connected to emotion, and powerful negative emotions cause me to lose control of it. It'll turn from blue to red, and it takes over me, causing me to act...I guess you could say it makes me evil. Like my 'dark side'. Hearing what your so-called 'father' has done to you made me really angry, and I just need to calm down so I don't Turn." She rose to her feet, giving him a strained smile as she led the way back over to the cot. The two of them sat down next to each other again.

"Rain, I- I should leave. It'll be worse if he has to send Grunts to fetch me."

"Please, stay... We both need to get out of here, right? So you wait here with me. When someone comes to get you, I'll take care of them. They'll have to open the door to get in. So here's what we do..." The two teens moved their heads closer together as Rain began to speak quietly, outlining their plan of escape. _To hell with waiting,_ she decided silently. _If we move fast enough, we'll find my Pokemon before anyone can hurt them. But I have to get N away from this man that has made his life hell._

And just maybe they'd run into that unnamed man. Rain would be delighted to treat him to a beating and see how he liked it.

* * *

 _LDR: I feel a bit like I'm rushing this story... Do you guys think I'm rushing this? I mean, I just have a lot that I want to happen, so it's going to move quickly. And it's turning out a bit darker/more mature than I expected. I don't think it's enough to bump it up to M-rating, but it's still more than I expected. Oh well. I write these chapters with only a vague plan for events in my mind, and the occasional random quote that I want to be part of the story. Then I just start writing, and it comes out. Wow, huh? Anyway, yeah. In case you can't tell, I freakin' **HATE** Ghetsis. He is the most hate-able and hate-worthy character of anything I've ever encountered! So yeah. Much Ghetsis-bashing in this. Whoo hoo!_

 _Alright. I believe that's it for this chapter. R &R, hope you enjoyed this! Any flames shall be used for roasting marshmallows! LDR out!_


	4. Chapter 4

**Unova's Downfall**

 **Chapter 4**

 _LDR: Wow, I'm surprised I'm cranking these chapters out so fast! With high school starting, I'd have thought I wouldn't have much time for writing. Look how wrong I was! If I do start taking a long time, though, it's because things have started to get hectic. Or I'm not getting the feedback I need to be motivated to post. Speaking of feedback, thanks to Kira RaKash for leaving a review!_

* * *

"Rain, I- I don't know if I can do this. If I try to run again, and fail again..."

"Don't think about that." Her voice was firm as she met N's frightened gaze. "I'm getting out of here, and I'm taking my Pokemon and you with me!" Ignoring the pain in her shoulder (not only had she been using both fists against the wall earlier, but it was the shoulder that he had, accidentally, placed his hand on) she crept towards the thick door. She recalled that it opened inward, and N had told her it was so heavy that anyone rarely pushed it past a ninety degree angle. She flattened herself against the wall behind the door, while he remained on the cot. Which happened to be placed so that it'd be one of the first things seen by anyone who entered. "It'll work. Trust me."

"A-alright," he murmured, bowing his head.

"Don't do that around me!" Rain cried, albeit in a whisper. "Act like that, I mean. All...subservient and...giving in. Most people would at least complain about being the bait, or wonder why they should trust someone they just met. Especially since that someone is a criminal."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize for it! N, I'm not like the man that's hurt you. I don't want you acting meek and obedient. Act like yourself - the person you were before you were broken."

He gave her a small, wry smile, saying quietly, "I can barely remember that person."

Silence ensued. Until Rain broke it. "N, _do_ you trust me?"

"I... I don't know. I'm not very trusting anymore."

"But you sat with me, and you told me what's happened to you, and you haven't objected to my plan at all yet."

"You told me to do tho-"

"I don't want you to do anything because I tell you to! If you do something I ask of you, I want it to be because you trust me." She'd just about taken a step towards him when a voice caught her attention. Gesturing for him to be quiet, her eyes narrowed as she watched the door. The handle began to rotate, and the door was shoved open, wide enough for one person to enter.

The uniform worn reminded Rain of an Arthurian knight, though with the crest visible on the Grunt's chest - a blue P with a lightning bolt shape behind it on a half black, half white shield - she knew this guy was, without, a member of Team Plasma. The Grunt, stupid like all Grunts were, didn't even seem to register the fact that there were supposed to be two people in the room. As he started towards the male on the cot, the girl darted out from behind the open door and tackled him, sending him to the floor. She grabbed the back of his head, forcibly turning his head to the side, then used her free hand to catch him in a hard left hook to the jaw. He was out like a light. Standing, she turned to peek outside the room.

There were no guards. And only one Grunt. "Damn. Idiots had to go and ruin my plan." With a sigh, she started at the unconscious Grunt, then looked up at N. "Slight change. I'm still going to dress up. You aren't. I'll pretend I'm taking you to the guy in charge. We'll pass by the place they're holding my Pokemon - I can sense their location with my Aura - and grab them, then slip away." She bent down, beginning to strip the Grunt. "Ah, darn it. This is a guy... I'm a girl..." She glanced between her chest and the Grunt's, then began to unwind the bandages from her shoulder. "Help me bind my chest flat."

"Wh-what?"

"Please? I know how it's done, but I can't do it on my own." She shoved the bundle of bandages at him. "Just stand behind me. I'll instruct you how to do it."

"Your shoulder-"

"-is fine. Just sore. Healing isn't my forte, but I can close wounds of a certain size." She stood in front of N, placing her back to him and lifting her arms. "Pass an end of the bandage to me." Within a minute or so, her chest had successfully been bound flat with N's help. She pulled on the Grunt's uniform, then crouched over the unclothed, unconscious male with a frown. Carefully, she used her thumb to raise the lid of one eye, 'hmm'ing at what she saw. "Damn. My colored contacts are in my bag. And my bag was taken. Hopefully no one pays enough attention to notice that the eyes have turned from brown to blue. Or that I'm shorter, by a bit." She stood, turning to look at N. "Oh, in case we're stopped and questioned, I need to know how the Grunts refer to the guy in charge."

"It's usually 'Lord Ghetsis'."

"I know that name. That's the slime ball that used to do business with Dad. Then something happened, they both hate each other, and here I am. Lovely. I'll have to be careful I don't slip-up with _my_ name for him. You ready?"

"I don't think I can do this..."

"You have to get away from this hellhole! Unless you _want_ to stay, and continued to be used, abused, and pretty much treated like crap?"

"N-no, I don't. But...but I'm scared. I-if we get caught-" He stopped talking as she stepped forward and embraced him.

"It's alright. I might be a criminal, but I'm a good person at heart. I won't let anything happen to you." Inside, she was squealing over the fact that her arms were currently around her crush (She'd only known him for an hour or two, and decided that she was indeed crushing on him about ten minutes ago. Was she moving too fast? Nah. Rain was the kind of person who was impatient about getting what she wanted.) but on the outside she remained calm. "I promise you'll stay safe if I'm with you." She felt him shaking in her grasp, and tilted her head back a little to meet his gaze. "Please, trust me."

He held her gaze for a second or two, then looked away. "I want to leave. I truly do. But I'm too frightened to try."

"That's exactly what Ghetsis wants. He wants you to be too scared to disobey him. Don't keep doing what he wants. N, do you trust me?"

"I- I'm not sure."

"Understandable. But I promised I'd make sure you were safe, right? I _never_ break my promises. Oaths are sacred things to an Aura Guardian. And when I promise to keep you safe, I do so as an Aura Guardian, not a Rocket." She took a step back, then gently grabbed his hand. Using her good arm, of course. Her bad shoulder had been put into use too much since she woke, and it was throbbing like hell. She began to lead him towards the door, but was met with resistance a few steps away. Biting back an exasperated sigh, the teen turned to look at her companion. "Don't be frightened."

"I can't do this. I'm already facing terrible punishment for coming to see you, and for staying so long. If I try to escape and get caught, it'll be even worse. If I do escape, he'll hunt me down, and I'll be hurt worse than I've ever been before..."

"Don't think so negatively. Consequences are good to think about - most of the time. But sometimes you have to not think about them. Don't start thinking 'what if' and doubting yourself. Here's a secret: if you believe you can do something, you're more likely to succeed at doing it than if you don't believe."

"How old are you?"

N's unexpected question threw her slightly off, but she still answered. "Fourteen."

"You're wise for a fourteen year old girl."

"And you severely lack the self-confidence that most sixteen or seventeen year old boys have. Ghetshit's - I mean Ghetsis' - abuse destroyed it. You can't start rebuilding it without taking the first step." As they'd talked to each other, Rain had started walking again, encouraging him along with a gentle tug. They made it into the corridor, and she paused to turn and pull the door closed, locking it. "See. This is all just walking. Not so hard, right? Let's go find my Pokemon." Closing her eyes, she tapped into her Aura and began to scan her surroundings with it, gradually increasing the radius of the area she searched until seven familiar beings were sensed. "This way," she murmured, turning to hurry down the hallway, his hand still in her grasp. N stumbled the first few steps before finding his footing and drawing up next to her.

Normally, Rain would use her Aura to help herself navigate unfamiliar places. But the layout of this castle was so incredibly simplistic! Every floor was just one straight hallway, with doors lining the walls, and a staircase at either end, one leading down and the other going up. She could have laughed, if she wasn't so focused on getting out of there. The whole place seemed oddly deserted, but she paid that fact no mind...

It didn't take long for her to find the (unguarded) room where her Pokemon were being held. Their Auras were small in size, condensed into ping-pong ball sized spheres of energy. Which meant they were all in Pokeballs. Which her Gengar hated and feared. Throwing all subtlety out the window, she leveled a hand at the door, not even noticing that she happened to use her bad arm it made her shoulder hurt _more_ , and blew it off its hinges with a round of Aura Spheres. She let go of N's hand and rushed inside, immediately going for The Watcher's Pokeball, resizing it and letting him out. It took a second for him to calm down and recognize her, but when he did, he let out a happy cry and wrapped his short arms around her...as far around her as they could go, at least. She began to pet him, letting out a few 'shhh's, until he released her from the hug and slipped into her shadow. Rain turned her attention to the Pokeball the Gengar had been trapped it, dropping it to the floor and smashing it beneath her foot. "Those frickin'...ugh. The Watcher hates Pokeballs, but they forced him into one, and keep him in there, anyway. There are other ways to restrain a Pokemon! Not that I'd prefer any of them to be used." She gathered up her other six Pokeballs, then cast a look around the room. It was full of the red and white capsules, all of them shrunken down to prevent the Pokemon inside from getting out, and likely having been stolen and placed here temporarily. She resized all six of her Pokeballs, then tucked them away inside the Plasma uniform she wore, looking back at N. The male stood just inside the doorway, continuously glancing fearfully over his shoulder. She approached him, taking his hand and leading him a few steps further into the room. "We should-"

" _Rain! He's with them! Team whatever-they're-called!_ "

"Team Plasma, and it's not by choice. Hush, The Watcher, please. Before you alert Ni- oh, too late." The flash of light typical of a Pokeball opening came from the spot she'd tucked the spheres away. A split second later, the pair of humans stood in the shadow of a monster.

More than double the average size of his species, the Nidoking loomed over them. A furious gaze was fixed on N. When he spotted their joined hands, a bellow erupted from him, and he bared his teeth. The scimitar-like pair of fangs that jutted from his lower jaw glinted dully and ominously as the beast advanced on the teenage boy, who looked thoroughly terrified despite his connection with Pokemon.

"He doesn't like that we're holding hands," Rain commented casually.

"Y-yes, so he said."

Rain just smiled, and stepped forward...still holding N's hand. Her free hand, of course the one attached to the arm that was attached to her injured shoulder, reached out to gently brush over the Nidoking's battle-scarred hide. "Suck it up, Nido. I'm a big girl now, and I don't need you eating every boy I come into contact with. There are times for your overprotective behavior, but now is not one of those times. This is N, and I'm going to help him escape Team Plasma. He's suffered from a lot of abuse at the hands of his 'father', so I'll not have you treating him like this."

" _No father would treat his offspring in such a way. Where are his real parents?_ "

"I think he might be like me. An orphan," replied Rain, at the same time that N said softly, "He is my real father."

" _Poor boy. My old Trainer was Rain's father and mother. She has lost them, but not me. You seem to have no one._ " Nido didn't stop his advance, and his arms went out to grab N...pulling him into a surprisingly gentle hug. " _I do not believe this man you call 'father' is your true sire. I am raising Rain, and I will raise you,_ " he decided. His tone left no room for argument, causing Rain to hold back an amused noise. The Nidoking released the boy and took a step back, then bent down to glare at him, meeting his gaze. " _I can tell already that Rain cares for you. She almost never holds the hand of a male human. If you hurt her, I'll hurt you. Treat her well, and we'll get along nicely._ "

"Nido!" Rain just knew that pink was blossoming across her cheeks. "What kind of person says that he'll raise someone, then threatens them?"

" _He does not need a father, like you did. He just needs family. So I will be the brother. The protective brother._ " He stressed the word 'protective' and gave N a meaningful look. " _Rain, there will be no mating with anyone until you are of the proper age. Neither will you take a mate until you are old enough. Fourteen summers is not old enough_."

"Nido!" she squeaked. Forget pink. Her face was probably a burning crimson.

" _Quiet, Rain. He is nearing the proper human age for taking a mate, and I will not have you bearing offspring before your time._ "

"B-be quiet! Please! Just this once, don't act like a father!" She felt like her face was on fire. "You're being embarrassing. Not to mention you did something that should _never_ be done. You just told him that I like him!"

" _It is true, though, is it not?_ "

"Are females always so quick to choose a mate?"

Rain, just about to sputter out a reply to her Nidoking, paused and turned to look at N. After a few seconds, the male bowed his head, mumbling an 'I'm sorry for speaking out of turn.' That brought a quick shake of her head from the girl. "No! Don't apologize! I was just a little startled because you asked such a...bold question."

"Y-you told me I shouldn't act subservient around you."

"And I don't want you to. Umm... As I was saying before Nido interrupted-"

" _Rain has been unusually fast in choosing a potential mate. She must sense something worthwhile in you with her Aura._ " The Poison and Ground type sat down with a thud. " _You speak of a pairing between humans in the same way Pokemon do._ "

"I was raised by Pokemon. I have honestly not learned much of the human ways."

"This isn't the time to talk about this!" Rain cut in. "We're kind of trying to escape! Nido, subtlety is not your strong point."

" _We'll continue this conversation later. Mating is a very serious issue._ " Nido returned himself to his Pokeball.

Rain sighed. "We've wasted a lot of time with that. I wanted to figure out a way to get all these Pokemon out of here, but there's no time now." She cast a forlorn look around the room, before leading him out.

* * *

The pair was quickly approaching a door that N said would lead outside. The Watcher had slipped away earlier, returning with Rain's bag and all of its contents, as well as her Key Stone. The former now hung from her shoulders and the latter around her neck. The castle had remained deserted, and neither of them seemed to register that.

Until Rain's hand was on the handle of the door. Her eyes widened and she glanced around. "Where the hell is everybody?"

"There were never many that stayed here... But it's unusual that there seems to be no one."

"No, there's many here. I can sense them. At least, now that I'm searching." The girl spun around, shoving N behind her. "Teleport?" she mused. Three nearly identical Auras had suddenly appeared very nearby, though she couldn't see the people they belonged to. "Three...identical...there, there, and there. Show yourselves!"

"It must be the Shadow Triad."

"The ninja dudes? Oh, this will be fun. Hey! Shadow guys! I told you to show yourselves!"

Three blurs flashed into view, forming a trio of white-haired men. "...It is rare that we are detected."

"I don't care about that. You Plasma guys were all planning some kind of trap, weren't ya? How'd you know that we were planning to get away?"

"... ... ..."

"Tch. Whatever. I'll fight off every single Plasma member with my bare hands if I have to. But we're getting out of here!"

"Rain...no one gets away from the Shadow Triad," N mumbled. "We tried to escape, and we failed. S-stop."

"No way! We're gettin' outta here!" Rain lifted her bag from her shoulders and let it drop to the floor before darting forwards, feinting with a jab towards on Triad member before turning to leap over another, spinning on her heel as soon as a foot touched the floor and roundhouse kicking the white-haired male. Much to the surprise of the other two, the Triad member was sent reeling by the powerful strike, and Rain swiftly took advantage to aim a left hook towards his jaw. One of the other ninjas stepped in though, catching her attack. She fought against the pair in short and brutal hand-to-hand combat, before actually taking time to count her opponents. She was fighting two. Where was the third?

"...Stop."

"What the hell is with your way of talking?" Rain froze as she spotted the missing Shadow, standing right behind N. The ninja had twisted the boy's arm up behind his back, and held the point of a _kunai_ to N's throat. "You wouldn't kill him. Your boss wants him alive."

"... ... ...Then I will just cause him pain."

"Don't. He's suffered more than anyone I know. Just...let him go." She lifted her hands to shoulder-height, in a 'I surrender' gesture. "You can't be heartless enough to take him back to that man."

In response, another Shadow snatched a Pokeball from her, causing Rain to shout in anger. He stared at her silently, then shrank it so that the Pokemon inside - Rain knew it was Mystic, the Dragonair - couldn't escape. "...Come." He clenched a fist around the shrunken Pokéball. His meaning was clear enough. If she and N didn't cooperate, he'd crush the capsule while Mystic was inside, effectively killing the Dragon type.

"Oi, don't threaten my family, bastard!" the girl snarled, barely restraining herself from lunging at him. She clenched her teeth and glanced at N, still in the grasp of one of the Shadows, then at Mystic's Pokeball and sighed. "Fine," she growled. Her hands dropped, and the third Shadow moved closer to bind her wrists together behind her back. The first ninja let go of N to do the same to the boy.

"I- I knew I wouldn't be able to get away..." The teenage male squeezed his eyes shut, a few tears leaking from the corners of his eyes, and bowed his head, trudging forward at the prompting of the nearest Shadow.

Rain fell into step beside him, shoulders slumped. "I'm sorry. I should have paid more attention... The place seemed deserted, which is commonly a sure sign of some sort of trap. I had all this time to figure it out, and... and I just blatantly ignored all the signs! Koga-sensei would be so disappointed in me!"

"...Koga?"

Apparently, she'd caught the attention of the Shadow Triad. She swallowed a growl, for Mystic's sake, and stayed silent.

"...We trained with him."

"...You are his pupil?"

"What's it matter to you?" she snapped.

"... ... ...A shame you and he have aligned with Rocket."

"Just stop talking to me," she muttered. The rest of the trip was in silence, and ended when the pair of teens were shoved into a room. The Shadow Triad all bowed before disappearing, though the one that held Mystic's Pokeball discreetly slipped the capsule back into her uniform, muttering something about 'for the sake of past friendship' with her teacher before he left, as well as cutting both her and N's bonds. Rain and N were left facing a small group of five people.

These five consisted of a trio of Plasma members who, judging by their uniforms, were a higher level than the Grunts. They wore no Arthurian knight costume. Instead, they were clothed in black, with a piece of black cloth over the lower half of their faces like some kind of bandits, and a black hat atop their heads. One was female, and seemed to be the one in charge of the two males.

The fourth person was a man in a lab coat. Rain immediately felt a strong dislike like for the scientist, which was obviously his profession. A pair of glasses perched on his nose, and he had blonde hair. A strip of blue...hair? Was it hair? Whatever it was, it was certainly gravity-defying. It started at his forehead, and sort of circled the man's head. Weird.

The final person was someone she vaguely recognized, having met him once or twice when he'd paid Giovanni a visit or two. His robe was a dark gray color, and had a pattern resembling eyes on it. Its collar was wide, and in one hand he held a metal cane with the Team Plasma crest on it. His hair was the same tea green color as N's, and three tufted clumps rose from it, one on either side of his face and one at his forehead. His left eye was colored red, while his right eye was covered by a crimson eyepiece.

It was this man that she directed her growl towards as she stepped in front of N. "Ghetsis."

"Giovanni's adopted brat."

"Keep away from N." Behind her back, she began to struggle against the rope around her wrists.

"You've been told of my behavior."

"Oh yeah? How do you know? I destroyed the camera you had in that stinkin' room."

"There was a second, quite well hidden. I heard and saw everything. I must say, you're a clever little brat. It's too bad you waste your skills for Giovanni, instead of working for me."

"Like hell I'd work for you!" She stiffened, eye twitching. "Heard and saw everything... Ugh, you were stalking me while I got my chest bound...and when I changed into this darn uniform..."

"Move aside. I'm not wasting my time with you. You'll serve your use in the laboratory, for Colress."

The scientist adjusted his glasses, letting light glint off the lenses as a smile appeared on his face. "I've never had a chance to study an Aura Guardian before. This will be interesting."

"Aura Guardians are not well-known. How do you know the term?" Rain spat. She let out a small yelp as something smacked into her, knocking her aside and sending her sprawling. She glared up from her position on the floor at Ghetsis as the man lowered his cane and stepped towards the trembling boy that she'd been attempting to shelter.

"How difficult can it be to do as you're told?" The man stared coldly down at N, who'd fallen to his knees in front of his father, looking down at the floor.

He flinched as Ghetsis spoke, a few tears dripping from his cheeks to splash onto the floor. "I- I'm sorry, Father. Please, forgive me."

"Get up." N obeyed, only to be backhanded across the face with enough force to knock him back down to the floor. "I made it very clear you were to keep away from Giovanni's brat. Yet not only did you visit the wench, you spoke of things I explicitly told you were not to be said to anyone. You then tried to run away, when you should know by now that you cannot leave. I am surprised you've not learned your lesson about disobedience." The cane went up, before cracking down across the boy's shoulders. He cried out and curled up in the fetal position, trying to protect his head as the cane rose again.

Gritting her teeth, Rain threw herself forward, placing herself between the object and the cowering male. She hissed in pain as the metal smacked into her, snarling at the man wielding it. "Leave him alone, _kuso yarō_!" she growled, cursing at the man in the native language of Kanto and Johto.

The three black-clad Plasma members surged forwards, reaching for Rain to pull her off. Ghetsis gestured for one of them to grab N, while the other two held Rain tightly, despite her struggling. The man cast a contemptuous look at his son, saying, "I'll take care of you later," before he approached Rain.

She lifted her chin challengingly, scowling at him. "You take one step closer, and I'll unleash hell with my Aura." Her words caused the scientist, Colress, to lean forward slightly, looking expectant.

Ghetsis just laughed. "If you fight me, I'll return my attention to that freak."

Rain jumped forward, or tried to, cursing and spitting at him. "He's no freak! Just because he can speak to Pokemon does not make him inhuman. You'll not lay a finger on him! I made a promise, and I never break my promises!"

Ghetsis halted in front of her, reaching out to catch her chin between his thumb and forefinger. He forcibly tilted her head back so she could meet his gaze, a cruel smile on his face. "You're very spirited, brat. I've heard of the things you can do. If you won't willingly serve me, I'll simply have to coerce you into doing so."

"Thought you wanted to hand me over to your geeky pal."

"Once Colress is through with you, I'll be taking you off his hands. He won't be performing any lethal experiments." His hand moved to yank back the hood of the uniform before he fingered a few strands of her hair.

"Like hell I'd let myself be experimented on in any way! Once he realized I've failed to check in, Giovanni is going to come looking for me. I won't be too hard to find, either, what with the tracking chip implanted within me. Get your grubby paw out of my hair!"

"That's a spirit I'm going to enjoy breaking," he hissed. "It's too bad I'll have to mar your pretty body to do so. Though you are a little...flat." His hand dropped to her chest. As she opened her mouth to reply, his reached up to squeeze her sore shoulder, causing her words to turn into a pained yell. "It seems you've placed much too great a strain on your shoulder since waking. Not very smart, for the arm attached to be in nearly constant use."

"Jerk," she gasped out through the pain. He responded by tightening his grip, eliciting another scream, before bringing his cane around to club her across the back of her knees. Her knees buckled, and she'd have fallen if he weren't holding her shoulder so tightly and she wasn't being restrained by the pair of Plasmas. Then her scream turned into a laugh as she felt something tucked away with her uniform begin to shake. "Y-you've made a huge mistake. Ghetshit, you are so screwed."

The Pokeball that had been shaking suddenly burst open, Nido appearing at Rain's side. He roared, radiating raw, primal fury. " _You. Hurt. Rain._ "

Ghetsis hurriedly let go and stepped back, while the two Plasma members that had been behind her shared a look before turning to run. "What sort of monster do you carry around?"

"Monster?!" she shrieked. " _You_ have the audacity to call Nido a _monster_?! You're the monster here. But if you wanna see just how scary Nido can get..." She turned to her frightening Nidoking, uttering two words that brought looks of absolute terror to those left in the room. "Sic 'em."

The female Plasma member let go of N, turned, and ran as if she were being pursued by the devil himself. Colress stepped back, adjusting his glasses while mumbling something about Pokemon's strength, before deciding it wouldn't be in his best interests to stick around. Which left only Ghetsis. The man had backed away, though stopped when he reached N. A snarl twisting his face, he cast his cane aside to grab the boy's arm, forcing him down to his knees while twisting his arm up behind his back at the same time. "Keep back and I won't break his arm."

The girl met N's gaze, easily reading the fright and desperation in his tear-filled eyes. Then she looked away. "Nido, use your best judgement and deal with this yourself." A vicious gleam appeared in The Drill Pokémon's eyes, causing the man to hesitate. The girl patted her Nidoking's side, snickering at the look on Ghetsis' face. "Why don't you use your little scouter thing to check Nido's power level? I bet it's over 9,000!" Nido shot his Trainer an amused look before retuning his attention to the situation at hand. Giving the man no time to react, he rushed at Ghetsis with speed that seemed unbelievable for a creature of his bulk. His tail whipped around and smacked into the Plasma Boss, sending him flying while Nido turned to gently scoop up N, returning to Rain's side. He rumbled quietly, no real words or meaning behind the noise. "He probably survived that, though if he's unharmed or conscious, I'll be very surprised."

"N-Nido is scary."

"Eh? Oh, that was just mildly angry Nido. Full-blown pissed Nido is never something you wanna see. I think he might be some legendary Pokemon that died and was reincarnated as a Nidoking. Well, first a Nidoran." She reached over, using her good arm of course (She'd moved her bad shoulder around way too often today, and with Ghetsis brief torture session added to that, it was much too sore.), and gently took N's hand. "He got a hit in on you before I could do anything. Ghetsis, I mean. Are you alright?" As Nido set the boy down, her hand moved, sliding up his arm rest gently between his shoulder blades. "It looked like a very hard strike. Anything broken? And how's your arm? It must really hurt, having it twisted up behind your back twice-" She broke off with a yawn. "Arceus, it's been a long day. It's probably nighttime by now. I should get a watch sometime... Come on, we still have to get out of this base!"

"I am f-fine. It hurt, but it- it's nothing new to me."

"I should kill him," Rain mused, turning to look at where Ghetsis slouched, out cold. "He wouldn't be able to fight back like this. It'd be easy to just slit his throat... But that would be dishonorable. And I want to give him a painful death. He deserves something of the sort. Alright, which way is out?" Before N could respond to the question, Nido lumbered happily over to the back wall and smashed a hole in it with his tail. "That's my OP boy!" the girl cheered.

" _Once we leave, and find a safe place to camp, we are going to be continuing our earlier discussion._ "

"Nooooo! Please, Nido. I know how to be saf-"

"The one about mating?" N cut in quietly.

Rain groaned and buried her face in her hands. "Let's just go. Please."

The Watcher slipped out of her shadow at the same time Nido returned to his Pokeball. With Psychic, the Gengar levitated the pair of humans out the hole. And it was a good thing he did, because they were several stories up. With a cackle, The Watcher dove out the hole after them. He let himself, and the two teens, fall through the air, catching them with Psychic and activating his Levitate just before they hit the ground.

Rain looked exhilarated. N...not so much. "You've caught me later than that, The Watcher! Slacking off?"

" _I didn't want to frighten the poor boy_ too _much. He looks like he's about to wet his pants as it is!_ " the Gengar chuckled.

Rain broke down into giggles, while N's face reddened. Then a hint of a smile formed on his face. "I haven't been teased since being taken from the forest. It was a frequent pastime for my siblings."

The Watcher gave him a double thumbs up and a grin before merging with his Trainer's shadow once more. Rain looked at N and gestured for him to follow her. "We're not away yet. Just out of the castle. Come on!" She took off running, her companion hesitating before following.

* * *

 _LDR: There's the end of that! Mean, mean, Ghetsis. Or as Rain (and I) likes to call him, Ghetshit! Sorry to all you people who there who are fans of him, but I absolutely despise the guy._

 _Okay, I realize people are probably going to start raising a fuss about OP characters, or Mary Sues or whatever. So I'm going to address that now. Is Nido the Nidoking seriously OP? Yes, he's meant to be that way. Does Rain's Aura make her OP? No. She's still training with it, and such. Does the combo of having Nido and having her Aura make Rain OP? Yes, I'll admit it does. Will either be used often? NO. To balance out the fact that yes, Nido is OP, and yes, Rain could be seen as OP too, Rain will not be using Nido in battle often and she will rarely use her Aura when it comes to serious matters._

 _Hey guys. Longest chapter I've written! Anyway, yeah. R&R, no flaming. LDR out!_


	5. Chapter 5

**Unova's Downfall**

 **Chapter 5**

 _ _LDR: If at any time you guys think this is moving too fast, let me know. Please. Thanks to Something dictionary related, InfernusXS, and Parthena C for following this fic! Thanks as well to Parthena C and Kira RaKash for reviewing!__

* * *

Rain was woken the next morning by something soft brushing against her nose. The tickling sensation resulted in a sneeze, though luckily she turned her head away in time to avoid sneezing on...whatever it was that had been touching her nose. With a yawn, she blinked her eyes open, taking a second or two to adjust to the blinding sunlight that greeted her. Once she could see again, she took a peek at what had been tickling her nose.

A mess of tea green hair pulled back into a ponytail. Her face heated up, turning pink when she realized she'd had her face buried against the nape of N's neck. Even worse (or was it better?) her arms were wrapped around his torso from behind and his back was pressed against her front. She couldn't exactly pull away either, because one of her arms was trapped beneath his side. Nido wouldn't be too happy if he found out she'd fell asleep cuddling a male of her species that happened to be right around her age and that she happened to have a crush on. He'd likely believe that something else had gone on. And she was pretty sure she wouldn't be able to convince him otherwise. Maybe she could at least make it look a little less like she was snuggling up to N. She pulled back her free arm, wincing as her shoulder throbbed. Darn, she needed Alanna to get to Unova, and fast. Her movement woke N, who stiffened as he felt her arm withdraw and made a small noise like a whimper once he realized he was pressed back against someone. Rain reached back towards him with her free hand, gritting her teeth as her shoulder throbbed again, to gently poke his shoulder. "Morning. You're on my arm."

He looked over his shoulder at her, a panicked look leaving his eyes as he relaxed. "S-sorry." He got up, freeing her arm, and glanced around, and relieved, disbelieving look on his face. "It wasn't a dream. It really happened; I- I've gotten away."

"Yep. And, uh, don't let Nido know about the way we woke up, or we're both dead. I was kinda...snuggling up against you. He wouldn't approve. In fact, it'd be the perfect excuse for him start lecturing me about 'mating' again. Since he didn't get a chance to do it last night." There'd been no time for such a thing. Rain and N had started running, and they hadn't stopped. It had indeed been nighttime when they got out of the castle, and they'd run until they dropped to the ground from exhaustion, just as the rising sun was beginning to color the horizon. The two teens had fallen asleep right then and there, both of them dead to the world until now. They appeared to be in the middle of some kind of moor, and Rain guessed it was early afternoon. Arceus, she was _hungry_. Opening her bag (it had remained slung around her shoulders while she slept, and she was lucky she hadn't rolled over onto it) and rummaged around, carefully pulling out various things. Some extra Pokeballs, Full Restores, Max Revives, a pair of long, slim knives (the reason she was glad she hadn't rolled over onto the bag), a pistol, and wads of cash. "I'm surprised all my stuff is still here. No one searched my bag?" Finally, she withdrew her hands, grasping a bulging Berry Pouch. "I can't really walk around in public with a Team Plasma uniform on, which means I can't go buy food or new clothes. So we're gonna have to deal with eating my emergency provisions until I figure something out." She set the container down and reached back into her messenger bag, pulling out two bottles of water, a pair of granola bars, and a pack of Tauros Jerky. Silence greeted her words, and she turned to meet N's gaze, frowning slightly at the odd look he was giving her. "...what?"

"Was Nido right when he claimed you wished to be my mate?"

"First off, humans don't use the phrase 'mate'. We say either husband or wife, depending on the gender. Second, I just met you yesterday. A little quick to be making a decision, don't you think?"

"I was never taught of...'husband or wife'. My teachers did not deem human mating-"

"Marriage," Rain cut in. "That's what we humans call it."

"They didn't consider 'marriage' to be an important skill for me to know."

She held back a giggle. "It's not exactly a skill. You've got some stuff to learn, I guess. About social interaction and stuff. Yesterday, you didn't really seem to know why I put my hand on your shoulder, or the significance of holding hands."

"It's true," he admitted softly. "I was only taught what Father thought would be necessary. He never planned to allow me outside the castle after I failed with Reshiram, so I was not taught much of how humans interact." He lowered his head. "There were very few lessons. Often, he would simply find fault with something I'd learned, and attempt to...to correct me."

"I can image what his idea of correcting you consisted of. The bastard." Rain spat to the side before gesturing for him to sit next to her. He did so, quietly, and she passed him one of the water bottles and a granola bar. "Hungry?" He nodded, and the pair ate quickly and in silence. "I'm sorry it's not very good. There won't be much to eat until I can get a change...of clothes..." She paused near the end before trailing off as she finished speaking, eying her bag and the contents she'd left strewn around in. Poking out of the opening was some sort of black fabric. Her face lit up with a grin as she jumped up and snatched it. "Aw! Someone checked my bag's contents before I left! I _know_ I didn't pack that!" She turned to face N, holding up a black bodysuit. A small piece of paper fluttered to the ground and she bent down to pick it up, reading the short, scribbled note. "Tch, I guess it was kinda stupid to leave this behind, but you don't have to be so rude about it, Sabrina," she muttered to the note. Then she lifted her face to the sky. "Thanks anyway!"

" _You are aware she can't hear you...right? Sabrina's back in Kanto, Rain._ "

"Yeah, I know. Watcher-"

" _The Watcher._ "

"The Watcher, could you separate so I can go change?"

" _Someone has to clean up the mess you left anyways._ " The Gengar slipped out of her shadow, where he'd been speaking to her, and began gathering up everything Rain had pulled out of her bag.

"Thanks, bud. I coulda cleaned that up though." Rain darted away, bodysuit in hand, a balled up clump of black fabric in her other hand. Once she was out of sight, in a small dip between two little hills, she glanced around to make sure she really was alone. Then she stripped off the Plasma uniform, taking her Pokeballs out from where she'd tucked them away. She quickly redressed, then shook out the balled up fabric she'd taken as well, revealing it to be something similar to a mask. "She even packed my mask, so I can actually use the stealth suit!" she muttered to herself, grinning. "I'm really gonna have to thank Sabrina when I get back." Balling the mask up again, she eyed the discarded Plasma uniform, and the pile of dirty bandages that had first been used for her shoulder then to bind her chest and now lay on the ground. Her Pokeballs were clipped around her waist, a flap of the fabric from her bodysuit covering them. At the base of her throat, an 'R' shaped charm like one might find on a necklace was sewn into the outfit, and also covered by a small flap.

She returned to the other two to find her messenger bag all packed. The Watcher cheered at the sight of her outfit, loudly proclaiming how fun her stealth suit was, while N just gave her another odd look. She quirked a brow at him curiously. "Those clothes are very tight. Are they too small?"

She giggled. "Silly. It's my stealth suit. It's supposed to be this tight."

His gaze dropped. "I- I see. I'm sorry."

"How many times have I told you that I'm not going to hurt you? Don't act around me like you acted around your dad." She moved closer as he lifted his head and opened his mouth, reaching out to place a forefinger over his lips as if she were making the 'shush' gesture. "Don't apologize. Look, I'm going to stay with you, to keep you safe from Team Plasma, to teach you what you don't know but need to, and to help you get over your experience with Ghetsis. The latter starts now: it doesn't matter what your 'father' said; not everything you do is wrong. You are not a failure, you are not a freak, and you certainly do have a heart." She moved her hand to his cheek, leaning a little closer. Then she halted. _Stop it. You just met him yesterday. Even a major crush doesn't warrant such actions so soon. Be patient this once!_ she chided herself. Yes, she enjoyed getting what she wanted - and she nearly always did - and she like getting it quickly. But she could force someone into having feelings for her, and she had no desire to frighten N off. She would wait, for his sake. Jolting out of her thoughts, she realized how uncomfortable N seemed to be by her closeness. His eyes were tightly closed, and her sharp ears picked up the beginnings of a small whimper. After all, Ghetsis had probably been the only one to get so physically close to the boy for quite a while. She jerked back, dropping her hand to her side. "I'm sorry! I shouldn't have gotten so close! I didn't mean to make you nervous. I-" _I just really like you. After having just met you yesterday. Like this is some kind of stupid fairy tale._ "I just wanted to, um, get my point across. It takes a having a heart to feel something, and- and you obviously felt something, right?" she added quickly. When he hesitantly nodded, she gave a nervous grin. "See? If Ghetsis was wrong about you not having a heart, then why shouldn't he be wrong about the rest?"

N looked away, shaking his head. "Who to know me better than my father?" he murmured.

"You!" Rain cried in exasperation; she was beginning to get fed up. She was not very good at patient, unless a mission called for it. Even then, she could never be patient for long. She'd often been told by Koga that it was one of her biggest flaws, though Surge had argued many times that as long as it didn't drive her to reckless behavior, there was nothing wrong with Rain being impatient. Well, the master ninja and the Lieutenant had never quite seen eye to eye on such topics.

Her annoyance drained away when she saw N had flinched away at her shout. The Watcher gave her a look and shook his head before grabbing her bag, handing it to her, and merging with her shadow. " _This situation is yours to deal with._ "

"Thanks for helping," she grumbled. The girl took a small step towards N, who watched her, tense and ready to flee, like a startled Deerling. "I'm sorry I yelled. I really didn't mean to. I just- I'm not all that patient. It's going to be hard for me to help you through this because of that, but I'll try. I'll do my best not to get frustrated. But, please, if I do...don't get scared of me. N, even if I shout, _I will not hurt you_. I promise." She cautiously stretched out her hand. After a minute or so of silence between them, the older teen hesitantly placed his hand in hers, looking at her nervously.

"A-alright, Rain."

She smiled. "Come on. Let's find a way off this moor, and to the nearest civilized settlement. I want to change into a real pair of clothes, get some real food - those provisions I got out earlier don't count for much - and buy some painkillers for my shoulder. Maybe on the way you can tell me about your Pokemon siblings?" She started off with a few steps and he warily followed her, nodding. "So, you said there were three of them?" she prompted after a few moments of silence.

He nodded. "That's right. All different ages, but all unevolved. Mirage was my elder sister. She loved to tease me. Loki and Phantom were my younger brothers, and twins. They often used their Illusions to play pranks. Phantom also enjoyed friendly teasing."

"They sound like fun siblings."

"They are," he sighed. "But...that was years ago. I was much younger when I last saw them. It was a different lifetime."

"Nonsense!" Rain declared cheerily. "N, I am going to help you find them again!"

"Is that another promise?"

"...I can't make too many promises...but yes. This is a family matter. So it's a promise."

"Family is very important to you," he observed quietly.

"You've shared your story with me. It's only fair that I share mine. When I-"

" _No hand holding!_ " Rain was interrupted by Nido's sudden burst out of his Pokeball. The Nidoking glared at their linked hands, and N flinched back while Rain quickly released her hold on him.

"Sorry, _Dad_ ," she muttered sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

" _Do not take that tone with me!_ " Nido glared at her, pointedly placing himself between the two teens as they continued walked. " _You are too young for a mate. There will be physical contact as long as I am around._ "

"How'd you even know?"

" _I had a feeling,_ " came the cryptic response. She just snorted and, the previous mood ruined, the three of them walked in silence.

Sometime later, two more of Rain's Pokeballs popped open, resulting in a Servine that wrapped himself lithely around her shoulders, despite not being quite as sinuous as his serpentine evolved formed, and a Cubone that insisted on being picked up and cuddled. "N, you've met Nido and The Watcher. Now say hi to Emerald the Servine and Herumu, or Heru for short, the Cubone."

N did his best to sidle around the hulking Nidoking, who turned a watchful eye on the teen as he neared the girl. The beginnings of a smile appeared on his face as he extended either hands towards the Pokemon. Herumu waved his bone club at the green-haired boy, smacking the blunted end against N's open palm while glaring at him fiercely from the eyeholes of the skull he wore, while Emerald let out a soft hiss and extended a vine to curl it loosely around N's hand, moving it up and down in a handshake motion.

"They both seem to like you," Rain noted. "Heru especially."

N looked at the young Cubone, watching the bone club whack against his open hand for a few moments before giving Rain a curious look. "He has an interesting way of greeting others."

"He's unique," Rain laughed. Then she stilled, going stiff, and cocking her head slightly. Nido's ears twitched, and a minute or so later, Emerald looked up, followed by Herumu. "Someone's coming. About six people. Maybe seven." Spying the boy's curious look, she reminded him that her Aura enhanced her hearing, smell, and sight. "Not that the third one matters yet. But I'll probably be the first one here to get a good look at who they are. I don't recognize the scents or the voices, but I do feel like there's a faint, familiar smell underlying the scents of the people. I just can't tell what it is. There aren't any Pokemon out, that I can tell either."

"What are they saying?"

Rain frowned slightly, tilting her head a little more. " 'Why would they run all the way out here? The Moor of Icirrus is so barren!' 'Quit complaining. We do as we're told, and we keep our mouths shut. That's how Team Plasma works.' That's what I think two of 'em just said. We should run, if it's Plasma. They're drawing close, and I have a feeling you're the one they're after." She glanced at him, catching a glimpse of the fright that passed over his face. "Nido, Emerald, Heru... Would you all go back into your Pokeballs for now? It'll make it easier for us to get away. The Watcher, will you watch for pursuit from within my shadow?"

The Servine and the Cubone both returned themselves without hesitation, though the Nidoking didn't seem to happy about leaving the two teens 'alone' and paused before complying. Rain's shadow stretched out and a face resembling that of a Gengar's formed to nod before vanishing.

"Let's go!" Rain grabbed N's hand, and the pair took off running. She hissed out a curse as she realized she'd used the wrong hand to grab his, and her sore shoulder was shot through with pain as she jerked her companion back to his feet when he stumbled.

"There!"

" _They've appeared, seen you, and are coming,_ " The Watcher stated calmly.

"Damn. This isn't good. We ran so long last night and only had a few hours of rest. My feet still hurt, and I'm not even gonna mention my shoulder. We won't outlast them. We have to try to find a place to hide. Fighting is a last resort. There are seven of them, and only one of us actually has Pokemon."

"C-could Nido not take them all?"

"I'm sure he could, but it doesn't pay to be overconfident. Heru isn't much of a battler yet - he's too young - and The Watcher rarely ever emerges from my shadow for battle purposes. He doesn't like to fight. Which leaves me with five Pokemon. General and Spartan could probably take the whole lot of them if they Mega Evolved - that's the Lucario and Gallade - and Emerald and Mystic - Mystic is the Dragonair - are an amazing team when they fight by each other's side. Nido is the most OP powerhouse I've ever encountered. But I don't know what kind of Pokemon they have, how many they have. They're also probably the type of people who like to gang up on their opponents. While I'm very sure my team could easily take them on, I'm not going to make the mistake of underestimating my enemy." Pausing for breath, she then added, "Plus, sometimes fighting isn't the best solution. You never know what can happen in a fight. That's what I was taught."

" _Incoming Shadow Balls. Veer right,_ " her Gengar called out. The girl jumped in the commanded direction, yanking N after her and growling as the pain in her shoulder increased.

"We can't let them get to the city! Cut them off!"

"N, they're going to try to cut us off. Apparently, we're headed towards a city, and they - Hey, what are you doing? Keep running!" The boy had halted as soon as she'd mentioned a city, causing Rain to stop as well and look back at him.

"N-no, we can't. I can't go into cities. Th-they'll recognize me, and they'll hurt me!"

"What makes you think that?"

"A-after Reshiram left, Father told m-"

"Forget everything that bastard told you! He's wrong! We have to keep going, or we'll be caught!" Her words failed to change his mind, as indicated by a shake of his head. With a sigh, Rain slipped her arms around him, resting her chin on his chest and looking up at him with an adorable pout on her face and wide eyes. "Please?" She was surprised when he just shook his head, seemingly unaffected by her use of what could only be the human equivalent of Baby-Doll Eyes. Then she felt him trembling in her hold and sighed again, letting go and turning serious. "Alright then. We'll wait here and fight them off."

"Thank you," he whispered, head going down.

"Think nothing of it. I actually really enjoy battling," she hummed, turning to watch as the seven Plasmas drew closer, two Liepard flanking the group. Within the next few seconds, the pair was surrounded, and more Pokemon were summoned. Rain made a 'tch' sound as she realized there were more Pokemon than humans, meaning the Plasmas had all called out multiple partners. "Figures. Let's see what we got here. Four Liepard, five Scrafty, three Garbodor, a Zangoose, and a Seviper. Hmph. Then five Grunts - their Pokemon should be easily enough dealt with; they're just Grunts - then... Oi, you two?" The remaining two Plasmas were the pair of black-clad males that had restrained Rain back at the castle. "So eager to meet Nido again, huh? I see you've even brought a welcoming committee. How kind. Fourteen Pokemon...while I've really only got five to use. You sure you don't wanna call for some back-up?"

"Shut up. You're outnumbered, so just surrender yourselves," one of the group ordered.

Rain whirled to face the speaker with a snarl. "I don't take orders from pathetic _Grunts_!" she snapped. "I am Rain Tanaka-Rocketto, Elite of Team Rocket, head of the Rocket Agents, and adoptive daughter of Mr. Rocketto himself. You all better pray to Arceus if you truly wish to engage in battle with me. I've been labeled as the second strongest member of Team Rocket. My ace has only ever been bested by the power of a legendary Pokemon that was created to be the strongest. Now, either run along before I get annoyed enough to decide he should get some exercise, or begin this battle before I get impatient enough to call him out. And I'm not a patient person."

"Big words for a little girl," one of the black-clad males sneered, though his voice was tinged with uncertainty.

"Then attack me."

"Zangoose, Slash!"

"Seviper, Screech," his partner added.

Long claws glowing white, the Zangoose ran forwards while Seviper opened its mouth, emitting a screeching hiss. Rain actually dropped to her knees, clapping her hands over her ears, and screamed as the horrid noise grated harshly against her sensitive ears. Zangoose's attack connected, ripping open a long gash along her outer thigh.

She quickly forced herself to her feet, reaching out to grab N and lean heavily on his shoulder as blood gushed down her left leg. Glancing down, she winced. Her leg was sliced open to the bone. She had to stop the bleeding, but she didn't have enough skill in healing to close such a deep, long wound. Yes, she had closed up the wound on her shoulder that had been pierced completely through. But the size of said wound was small enough that she could manage. This gash was both deep and large. "Hah. You got a lucky guess with that Screech. Won't happen again." Her hands dropped to her waist, lifting the flap of fabric that covered her Pokeballs. She unclipped two, holding them up with a smirk and tossing them. "Prepare for defeat."

"Screech again!"

"Won't work!" Rain sliced a hand through the air, gaze falling on the Lucario and Gallade that had emerged from the capsules. "Close Combat, both of you." The pair rushed forward, striking the serpentine Poison type mercilessly before it could use the move again. It was sent flying, thudding to the earth more than a few feet away, outside the circle of Plasma members and Pokemon. "Now then. Let's get serious, shall we? General?"

" _I am ready, Master._ "

"Spartan?"

" _Same here, Miss Rain._ "

"Awesome. Mega Evolve, both of you!" Her hand lifted, a finger touching the Key Stone amulet that hung at her throat. It began to shine brilliantly, and a glow enveloped both dual Fighting types. Streams of light extended from all three, each of the Pokemon's connecting with some from the stone.

"Wh-what's going on?" N murmured, grabbing her as she stumbled and helping her support herself against him. "You're losing blood quickly."

"And my stealth suit was ripped. Shoot. Anyway, this is Mega Evolution. Trainers are technically only supposed to Mega Evolve one Pokemon at a time, but I don't really follow the rules. It's a technique mostly used in Kalos and Hoenn, to temporarily change a Pokémon's shape - sometimes typing and ability too - and increase its power. Don't worry, it can't be forced. One of the requirements is an unbreakable bond between Trainer and Pokemon."

By this point, Seviper had returned, and all fourteen Pokemon were closing in. Randomly among the group, members of Team Plasma were beginning to call out commands, and those Pokemon addressed rushed forwards to obey. Rain didn't like to admit it, but Seviper and Zangoose were tag-teaming very well. Unbelievably well, if one considered their species feud.

"General, Spartan!" she called out to the two Mega Pokemon. "Our priority is _Habunake_ and its partner," she commanded, using Seviper's name in her region's native language. "Aura Sphere and Psycho Cut!"

Placing themselves back to back, the two sent a barrage of the commanded moves flying around. The Lucario's Aura Spheres worked to keep the Liepard and Scrafty at bay, while the Gallade's Psycho Cuts made the Garbodor much more hesitant to advance. That part done, they turned towards their main objective. General placed his paws together and fired off a large Aura Sphere at Zangoose, while Spartan's next Psycho Cut flew towards Seviper. The serpent, having already taken damage from a double Close Combat, failed to dodge the super effective attack, and went limp, defeated. It was recalled as Zangoose jumped aside, trying to dodge the Aura Sphere only for it to clip its side and send it staggering then sprawling. General ran forward to finish it off with a Close Combat, while Spartan pulled a Rock Slide on the remaining twelve enemy Pokemon. Three or four dodged, but the majority were buried. Another round of Close Combats from both of them reduced the rocks to rubble so they could strike at the previously buried Pokemon. Then, with a Psychic, the Gallade lifted pieces of the rubble and began to make them fly around, randomly smacking into the enemy, whether Pokemon or human. General disappeared beneath a pile of Liepard while Spartan was busy throwing rocks, though soon sent the felines flying or skidding back with Roar. The two Mega Pokemon returned to their back-to-back position as the opposing Pokemon regrouped and began to once again close in. Two Garbodor, two Liepard, and all five Scrafty remained.

"Toxic," one Grunt called out. One of the Garbodor whipped an arm around to spray foul sludge from its 'fingers' towards Spartan, who failed to jump away in time.

Rain kept a hand clenched around Nido's Pokéball; it was shaking wildly as he tried to get out and help. If she had him emerge every battle to take care of tough situations like this, none of her other Pokemon would learn how to handle themselves or gain experience. She called out for General to hang back and make use of Helping Hand, while Spartan took center stage. This earned her confused looks from both, as the Gallade was now badly Poisoned, and the Lucario was simply a better choice for this battle. Growling to herself, Rain corrected, "I meant it the other way around. Spartan, Helping Hand. General, you think you can take them all?"

" _Miss Rain, there may be a better way. You are losing blood quickly. We do not have the time for such a long battle, as this is turning out to be._ "

" _That's right, Master. And Spartan is weakening. Their numbers may soon overwhelm us,_ " General added as he blasted away a Liepard that was edging closer with an Aura Sphere. " _They currently have the advantage._ "

"What do you suggest?"

" _Teleport. Icirrus City is nearby. I know your companion may be uncomfortable with the option, but it is our only choice. You need to get a healer, quickly. Your wound must be cleaned out and closed before you die from blood loss. It is a long wound, and it cuts to the bone._ "

"You're right." Rain gave the Gallade a nod. General returned himself to his Pokeball, prompting the opposing Pokemon and the Plasma members to close in much faster than previously. N gave her a scared look as Spartan reached out to touch the pair of teens. He briefly glowed white, then all three disappeared.

* * *

 _LDR: Another long chapter! I'm working very hard to make these long. My goal for each is at least 4,000 words. Previous length was between 2,000 and 3,000 and the last chapter was over 9,000! Kidding. It was 6,000+ words._

 _Anyway, that's it for how. R &R, no flaming allowed. LDR out!_


	6. Chapter 6

**Unova's Downfall**

 **Chapter 6**

 _LDR: Thank you to Parthena C and Kira RaKash for reviewing and Codmester for following this fic. And thank you to bailey136 for following and favoriting both me and this fic._

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"Mommy, Daddy, what's that?" An eight year old girl pressed her face up against the wall of glass, her curious expression smushed against the surface. The object of her curiosity was a mostly-formed, feline creature suspended in a large test tube, floating in orange liquid. Occasionally a few bubbles would rise from the bottom, making their way up to the top of the tube before bursting.

"That's going to be a Pokemon, darling." An ebony-haired woman with silvery gray eyes approached, laying a hand on the girl's head.

"Really? What kind?"

"It's going to be called Mewtwo."

"Mew Two? But it doesn't look like Mew. Mew is little, and it's pink. It looks cute and happy! This one isn't little, or pink. It doesn't look cute, and it's frowning... Why would you want to make a Mew Two when there's already a Mew One somewhere?"

"This is supposed to be a copy of Mew. It won't look like your PokeDoll Mew because this one is supposed to look different." A man joined the pair, having excused himself from the cluster of scientists that were chatting in the background. He had the same brown hair and dark blue eyes as the young girl. "And this one is Mewtwo number two. The first one ran away."

"Why did it run away, Daddy?"

"We don't know that. But Mommy and Daddy's boss want us to make another one for him."

"Is this one going to be a friend for the first one?" The girl looked up in time to see the two adults exchange a look. "What?"

"Darling, why don't you go play with Nido?" The man pulled a Pokeball out of a pocket of his lab coat, holding it out. "Mommy and Daddy need to start working."

"It's not going to be a friend for Mew Two-One, is it?" The girl pouted as the took the red and white capsule from her father. "It's mean to make something, then not give it friends. It's going to be made to fight, isn't it?"

"Go play, honey," the man urged.

With a resigned sigh, she trudged away from the test tube, moving to an open area of the lab and letting the large Nidoking out of the Pokeball.

Just minutes later, alarms began to blare throughout the lab and one wall exploded in flames. The girl's parents were immediately by her side, ushering her quickly towards the door. She ran, and stumbled. Nido rushed by, scooping her up just in time to avoid the collapse of the doorway. The two of them had gotten out, but everyone else was trapped inside. The girl was in hysterics as the Nidoking carried her through the burning halls of the base that the lab had been located in. Flames raged around her as she yelled for her parents, her cheeks coated in tears. Above the pair, the fire-weakened ceiling collapsed in a burst of embers, raining down around them...

Rain awoke, sitting bolt upright with a scream, tears sliding down her cheeks. Where was The Watcher? He was always there to get rid of her nightmares with Dream Eater! She felt a gentle touch on her upper arm, and got a glimpse of N's startled, worried face before she tugged him down towards her, burying her face in the crook of his neck and crying. She felt the other teen stiffen beneath her, unsure of what was happening, why, and what he should do.

Finally, his voice soft and hesitant, he asked, "What's wrong?"

It a few seconds of sniffling for her to answer, lifting her head to do so. "N-nightmare. Where- where's The Watcher?"

"The hospital staff doesn't allow Pokemon out around patients."

"Where is he?" she repeated. "I- I need him here! If I fall asleep when he's not around, I _dream_! I n-need him around so he can eat them!" She sniffled, reaching up to wipe her eyes. "How'd I get here?"

"You were unconscious when we arrived. Your Gallade went to find the Pokemon Center, and took your Pokeballs with him to get the others checked up. The Watcher emerged from your shadow to help me carry you to the hospital. They took you before he had a chance to merge with your shadow again, so when he wasn't allowed to see you, he went to the Pokemon Center to join the others. I waited here until they said I could see you." He looked down. "Should I have gone to the Pokemon Center for your Pokemon?"

"Y-you have free will, N," she mumbled. "But I'm glad someone was here when I woke up..." She eased herself back down to a lying position, just now aware of how weak she felt. "I must have lost a lot of blood," Rain murmured. "They must have also given me painkillers... My shoulder and my leg don't hurt." She pushed back the sheets on the bed, pulling up the bottom of the hospital gown she now wore so she could see her wound. It was cleaned up and neatly stitched, though now she could see just how large the gash had been. It trailed along the outside of her leg, from above her upper thigh to midway down her calf. Her face whitened at the sight. "That's serious. And it was deep. What about all the blood I lost? Don't they need to replace that or something?"

"It's been nearly twenty-four hours. The nurse said that's already been taken care of, and you just need to rest."

"Screw that. I hate staying in hospitals that aren't marked as supportive of...my group of friends." She made a move to get out of the bed, but as soon as she put her weight on her feet, she swayed woozily and fell back onto the bed. "N, help me up. I'm getting out of here."

"I- I think you should stay," he said nervously. When she raised a brow, he swallowed before rushing on. "Y-you told m-me that I shouldn't be subservient a-around you, and that I have f-free will. So I- I'm giving you my opinion o-on this matter. You're not even strong enough to get to your feet. You need to stay until you've regained strength." His gaze dropped as he finished, and he shied away with a mumble of 'I'm sorry, b-but it's true. Don't h-hurt me.'

Rain was unresponsive for a few seconds. Then she gave him a small grin. "Point taken. I can't exactly leave if I can't walk, huh? Fine. But I want my Pokeballs. Can you go to the Center and pick them up for me?"

"Y-you mean, g-go out in the city? Alone?"

"You're right. That's not smart. Icirrus City will be one of the first places Team Plasma will check, because it's the closest to the Moor of Icirrus. Now that I know where we are, navigating Unova won't be so hard. I've been here before." She suddenly cursed. "They know I'm seriously injured. A hospital will be one of the most obvious places to search! We have to get out of here! N, please! I need my Pokemon. General and Spartan can restore my strength with Heal Pulse, and the latter and Teleport us away!"

"Rain, I don't want to g-go out alone! I'm too scared...i-if I get caught..."

"I know you're scared. But if we don't get out of here, we _will_ be caught!" What she didn't add was that they probably already had been caught. Team Plasma would have footholds all over the place, and they'd need medical facilities. Sure, there was no reason to believe that this particular hospital was a Plasma one...except for the fact that she was so weak and unsteady. If it truly had been nearly twenty-four hours, she should have been able to at least stand up; her Aura replenished her energy levels and strength at an astonishing rate. On top of that, none of her Pokemon were around. She'd been in plenty of hospitals that allowed Trainers in their care to keep their Pokemon with them. But if this truly was a Plasma-operated facility...and it really had been nearly twenty-four hours...why were the two of them still there? What exactly had been done to make her so weak?

 _First things first,_ she thought. She needed to figure out if her suspicions were correct. And listening to the staff might do the trick. Her hearing was naturally enhanced by her Aura (sometimes, she liked to compare it to a serum that gave her superhuman powers, like in the movies, for such reasons), but she could draw upon the energy and use it to enhance her senses even more, which was what she tried to do now. Key word being _tried_.

Because she found that she couldn't tap into her Aura.

When she drew on her Aura, she usually imagined a hand reaching into the pool of energy that she could sense within her, the fingers grasping a strand (its thickness would vary depending on the situation, being thinner for less power and thicker for more) and pulling it from the gathered energy. But this time, she couldn't grasp at a strand. It wasn't like she needed a lot of power for this! This was one of the most basic, least taxing abilities a user of Aura could learn! But the thread kept slipping through the fingers every time she tried to grab it.

Only one thing could leave her feeling so weak and keep her from using her Aura. "They drugged me," she muttered.

"The doctors said it would help. W-with the pain."

"I'm usually fine with medical drugs, like the kind used to numb pain. Whatever they used on me, it's meant to keep me weak. A side effect, that they probably didn't predict, is that it's keeping me from drawing upon my Aura." She sighed. "N, can you check something for me? Just...just go to the door and open it. Act like you're about to leave my room."

He moved to do so, pulling the door open. No sooner had he attempted a step into the hallway, a nurse appeared in front of him, blocking his way. "Oh! We've just received a very injured patient, sir. The hallways are going to be very busy for a while while we treat her. We're going to need to be moving around quickly as well. If you wouldn't mind, just wait in here until we've finished, so you're not getting lost in the confusion, or getting underfoot while we're trying to work. Don't worry, I'll let the front desk know that your visitation hours are being extended!"

"I- I see. Alright then." The boy stepped back, allowing the nurse to close the door behind him, and turned to see Rain shaking her head.

"I figured." She was silent for a moment, then nodded as the soft _click!_ of a lock being turned could be heard. "And we're locked in."

"Locked in? What's going on?"

"That nurse was telling a lie. I've learned the techniques used when trying to detect lies, so I know what not to do when _I_ lie. ... ... ... Not that I make lying a habit! I'm a trustworthy person! Anyway, the nurse was lying - they want to keep us both in here - I've been drugged to stay weak -which also is preventing me from using my Aura - and they aren't allowing any of my Pokemon to be here." The girl sat up. "I think this is a Plasma facility."

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"Every regional Team has a various amount of footholds in 'their' region. These include everyday facilities owned and operated by members of that Team in disguise. A hospital owned and operated by members of Team Plasma is an ideal place to take injured or sick Plasma members, rather than just build an infirmary in a base, because legal hospitals often have the best care, cutting-edge tech, and can house more. It's a delicate and difficult way of running things while remaining undetected. I like to think, though, that Rocket has mastered it," she added proudly. "We're _everywhere_ in Kanto and Johto." It wasn't just Kanto and Johto. Team Rocket had footholds all over the world, though it was only Kanto and Johto that they did major business in. Giovanni was ready to expand that to Unova though. The more regions they took from the other Teams, the closer they were to their goal. She kept this information to herself though.

"So you think they've already got us again?" N's voice was quiet and frightened.

"Yes. The only thing I'm not sure about is why we're still here instead in chains at one of their bases or the castle. Luckily, my Pokemon are at the Center, which is nearby. The Watcher can turn incorporeal, but I need to let him know something is wrong. General can sense my Aura and emotions, so if I get agitated or worked up in any way, he'll know." She closed her eyes. "I've just got to think about my nightmare. I usually try to forget, otherwise I most certainly get agitated..." She took a deep breath. She had to get General's attention so that he could send The Watcher to find out what was up. "N, in the meantime, would you check the windows? Please? Find out if they're locked or not." While he moved to obey, she silently reflected on the fact that she'd have to stop telling him what to do — it wasn't helping.

Grumbling internally, the girl focused her mind on the task at hand, striking down layers upon layers of mental barriers that she'd set up around a particular section of her memory. (Layers that somehow brought themselves down very easily every night; she'd have to ask Sabrina for help on fixing that.) Images flooded her mind of that night, and she clenched her jaw as tears leaked from the corners of her closed eyes nearly instantaneously. But she'd have to make sure her emotions really caught General's attention, so she purposely pulled up what was quite possibly the worst memory of her life: the day she'd returned to the burned out base and found the scorched, rotting bodies (apparently no one had bothered to clean the mess up) of every who'd failed to escape. Including her parents. It was a horrid sight for a nine year old girl to view. She'd been on a roller coaster of emotions for days after, sometimes sobbing and pitiful, sometimes furious and destructive, and a few times she was even so hysteric that Nido was convinced she'd been driven to insanity. Then the ride had taken a serious plummet, and she went from crazy emotions that switched unpredictably, to nothing at all. Nido had described it to her once she'd recovered. Apparently, it had been like her brain just shut down. Her eyes held no life to them, and she wouldn't respond to anything. He'd had to force feed her because she wouldn't eat herself, and she didn't move or go to sleep. Eventually, he'd managed to 'revive' (as he'd called it, because he claimed it was like bringing a dead thing back to life) her. But that reaction had become her solution for many problems since then. The first few times she'd lost control to her emotions and her Aura, the first time she'd lost one of her Agents, every time she released a Pokemon (it was a very rare occurrence and hadn't happened enough for her to get used to it, even in the slightest bit), every year on the day after her birthday...

She held onto that memory for as long as she dared, before shoving it away and erecting the mental walls once more. She didn't want to risk re-entering that unresponsive state. Blinking her eyes open, she realized she tasted blood. Sometime during her recollection, she'd apparently shoved a fist at her mouth and bit down on her knuckles to stifle a noise, most likely a sob. It seems she'd bitten hard enough that her teeth pierced the skin. She also realized that she was leaning against something, that a pair of arms encircled her waist, and that a hand was gently moving through her hair.

As it turned out, the teen was leaning against N, and it was his arms around, which immediately brought a blossom of pink to her cheeks. The hand moving through her hair belonged to Spartan; the Gallade stood beside the hospital bed with her belt of Pokeballs and her stealth suit — the tear mended — draped over his other arm. The Watcher peered out of Spartan's shadow. " _Miss Rain, are you alright? General said the distress level in your Aura was rising. The others are all in their Pokeballs, and The Watcher placed himself in my shadow so I could move everyone here with Teleport._ "

"It worked then," Rain mumbled, lowering her fisted hand and letting out a shaky breath. "Spartan, I have reason to believe this hospital is a Plasma facility. Teleport us away, please?"

" _Has your leg been taken care of?_ " When she nodded, Spartan released a sigh. " _If this is Plasma-owned, why have you not been taken away?_ "

"I don't know, but they clearly don't want us to leave. Just trust me on this? Teleport us away, please."

" _Alright, Miss Rain._ "

However, before the Gallade could carry out the order, the door slammed open and a female voice called out, "Mean Look!" With a cackle, a Sableye leapt into the room, eyes glowing red. Spartan, in the midst of gathering the energy for a Teleport, halted as he found himself unable to complete the move that would allow them to escape. A familiar short, red-haired girl stepped in after the Sableye. "So Team Rocket is spreading their filth to Unova," she said in disgust.

"You!" Rain felt the other girl's Aura stretching between then, forming a link between their minds. ' _Alanna! When did you get here?_ ' She projected her thought along the link.

' _Yesterday. I tracked down your Aura. It, um, might be my fault you got drugged to block off your Aura. I gave the hospital staff that info, after telling them you're a Rocket._ '

' _And so the charade begins, huh?'_

' _Yup! Ready to fight?_ '

' _You bet._ ' Rain forced a grim look on her face. "Well, I was wrong. This isn't a Plasma facility. But I've been found much faster than I thought. N, help me up." As her companion hesitantly complied, Rain telepathically informed Alanna of how she and the other teen had met.

Alanna crossed her arms. "You really think you can escape?" she demanded. ' _I'll heal those wounds for you, Rain. Even the one you caused, biting your knuckles._ '

"Don't I every time?" she scoffed. "I just have to get rid of your Sableye, and Mean Look will no longer be in effect and Spartan can Teleport." She gestured towards Gallade, who set down the items he held and stepped forwards. ' _Thanks. Tackle me. We fight, and you can use that contact to heal me. Since my shoulder wound is closed and my leg covered up, anyone watching won't see those heal. As for my knuckles...leave them be. That's a small enough wound I can heal it myself later._ '

 _'We were all getting worried when you didn't check in. Then reports of a crash made the news.'_ Alanna rushed at Rain, slamming a shoulder into her and knocking her away from N as her Sableye jumped at Spartan.

' _Soon as that crash happened, I had no time at all to call him. Or you. Or Solom. Sorry for making everyone worry._ ' Rain grunted slightly as she hit the floor, her adoptive sister wrestling her down. As they tussled, she took a quick glance towards her Gallade and Alanna's Sableye.

She could tell both were holding back, though that was only because she'd seen them fight each other seriously before. It was clear neither wanted to cause damage to the hospital. Which was why neither ended up being Mega Evolved. There was very little moving around, and if an attack from one didn't do damage, it was because it had been blocked by the other, rather than dodged.

Rain brought her attention back to her 'fight' with Alanna as her sister faked a punch, aiming for her cheek. Over their yelling at each other (both spewed insults, knowing it was all part of the act and that neither meant what she said) it would have been impossible to hear whether or not Alanna's fist had actually connected, but Rain jerked her head back as if she'd been struck, lifting a hand to her cheek. She began to pinch at the skin, turning it red so that it certainly looked like she'd been hit, though disguised the motion as rubbing her cheek, as if trying to alleviate pain. Then she retaliated with a palm strike that ended up turning her sore shoulder towards Alanna. The redhead subtly placed a gentle hand on said shoulder and pulsed a bit of Aura into it, telepathically informing Rain that it would take care of the pain. Then Alanna faked a wince, recoiling slightly as Rain 'struck' her. Next up was Rain's leg, and Alanna took care of this by disengaging briefly before wildly throwing herself forwards. Tangled limbs and a 'fight' for 'dominance' ensued, during which the redhead used the chaos to get a hand on Rain's injured leg and heal that wound as well. ' _You'll have to take those stitches out later._ '

' _I know. Thanks, sis._ ' Rain would have grinned if she didn't have to keep up their façade of being enemies. It was at that moment that Spartan let out a victory call, and Alanna's Sableye cried out in defeat, sinking to the floor. "Great! Mean Look's effects are gone!" Rain shoved her sister away, and darted towards N, who'd hung back and just watched the pandemonium with a mixture of confusion, fright, and uncertainty on his face. Her Gallade joined her after picking up her stealth suit, bag, and belt. On his Trainer's command, he Teleported, just as the two girls exchanged glances. Rain grinned slightly, knowing she'd be running into her sister a lot more often. And even if they weren't with each other daily, like at home in Kanto, she wasn't quite so far from family.

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 _LDR: Here's the end of this chapter! I should have said this in the beginning, but I'm sorry it took so long to get this out! School is keeping me reeeaaally busy. It's also shorter than I would have liked, but oh well. I, um, can't really think of anything else that needs to be said, so..._

 _R &R, flaming is prohibited, and LDR out!_


	7. Chapter 7

**Unova's Downfall**

 **Chapter 7**

 _LDR: Okay guys. I know I've not updated for a long time, but that's not completely my fault. First off, I'm busy. Second, my motivation is all but nonexistent. More feedback (y'know, those things called reviews, favorites, and follows) equals faster updates._

 _Speaking of: Thanks a bunch to Kira RaKash for leaving a review (I always look forward to reading yours when I put out a chapter!) and to Anonymous101 for favoriting this fic._

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Alanna let out a sigh as she flopped back onto the bouncy mattress of the hotel room's bed. Arceus, was she _tired_! Despite this, a grin was quick to spread across her face, and after a another few minutes the redhead sat up, reaching for the little bedside table. Fingers gently pushing aside the digital clock that rested there, her hand closed around her C-Gear, bringing the device closer to her face. Turning it on, she selected the 'call' option, fingers quickly dialing a number. Lifting it to her ear, she waited for the person on the other end to pick up. She didn't have to wait for long.

"What is it?"

"I've found her Dad. She's alive; she's perfectly fine." Alanna held back a giggle as she heard the quiet release of a breath that had been held. Giovanni truly did care about his children, blood kin or not, and many were aware of this despite the man's poor efforts to hide it. Already anticipating his next words, she barely paused before continuing. "It was Plasma. They shot her down as she was crossing into Unova, then took her prisoner. Ghetsis' kid helped her escape."

"An ambush. I'm going to have to clean out the ranks again. It's tedious work, identifying infiltrators. Next time you encounter Rain, tell her that she is to assist you in destroying them."

"Dad, I'm pretty sure Rain's got a crush on the kid. The way she talked about him..."

"Rain may do as she pleases so long as it does not interfere with her mission. Though, you are calling someone who is several years your superior a chil- Persian, _get down_!"

" _Alanna!_ "

"Hey Persian," the redhead laughed.

"Alanna, it is good to know that Rain is doing well. And that you are safe as well. But you called during a bad time–"

"How is he?" Silence greeted her question. Bright purple eyes narrowing, she repeated her question more forcefully. "Dad. _How is Solom?_ "

"Does Rain know?"

"No, she doesn't. How is he? Don't dodge my question!" Her short temper flared, anger clear in her tone.

"He's doing fine."

"Don't lie to me!" There were very few people that could snap at the Rocket Boss in that fashion. "We share an empathetic bond as twins, remember?"

"Then why ask?" Warning was creeping into Giovanni's tone, usually a hint to stop and back down.

"Because all I know is that he's in pain. And I'm hoping for more info than that. Dad..." She felt unbidden, unwanted tears welling up. "Please."

The line crackled softly as he left out a sigh. "Just remember that this was Solom's request."

That one simple sentence brought fear flashing through her. "D-Dad, is he–?"

"He is in no mortal danger. He is unconscious, last I checked, while his body adjusts to the serum."

"... Why did you let him go through with this?"

"It was his choice, Alanna. And there will be benefits."

"Benefits?" That came out harsher than she'd intended. "He could have died from this experiment, but you were willing to take the chance, for the sake of Rocket's benefits?"

"Alanna, I really must go. I will send news when your brother awakes."

The short girl opened her mouth to retort, but he'd already hung up. With a frustrated growl, she slammed the C-Gear back onto the table and shook her head, laying back down and closing her eyes.

* * *

As soon as they emerged from the Teleport, Rain felt a pair of arms wrap around her. Turning slightly, she found her face mere inches away from N's. Pink colored her cheeks when she met his worried gaze. "You, err, I'm okay. You don't need to hold me up or anything."

"But your leg. A-and that fight–"

"–was faked."

Confusion crossed his face, though he released her and took a step back. "What?"

"Let me change, get some food, and I'll explain. Spartan?" The Gallade held out her stealth suit, and she smiled at him as she took it. "Where did you take us?" she inquired, finally noticing the trees surrounding them as she motioned for both of her companions to look away.

They complied, while Spartan answered. " _I believe we are just outside of Lacunosa Town, Miss Rain._ "

"Lacunosa?" Rain practically ripped off the hospital gown. "Sweet! I love this place!" Carefully tugging on her stealth suit, she checked over the area that had been torn, making a satisfied noise at the sight of the near-perfect mend. "I showed up here last time I was in Unova and accidentally got seen using my Aura. Luckily for me, the inhabitants here are very traditional people, and know about the Aura Guardians. I'm practically worshiped in this town~" Making a few adjustments, she then grabbed her belt and bag, the former going around her waist and the latter being slung across her shoulders. "You guys are fine to look now. Alright, let's head into town. I want to buy some actual clothes, a pair of shoes, and some food."

" _I shall take my leave now, Miss Rain, Sir N._ " The girl had to choke back a giggle at that, nodding to the Gallade as he bowed before entering his Pokeball.

"N, you hungry? Oh, you'll probably want a change of clothes too. And we'll need pajamas. I suppose that means also buying a backpack or something to carry stuff in. My bag's already pretty full."

Looking a bit overwhelmed by her sudden and speedy flurry of words, it seemed all the older teen could do was nod.

Rain had to hold on a squee at the expression on his face. Then she silently chastised herself. Only a few days they'd known each other, and with every passing minute she was falling even more head over heels for the adorable boy... This _had_ to be unhealthy. Not to mention that fact that it could start becoming an issue to travel with him with strong feelings that she was pretty sure he didn't return. And there would be hormones to think about.

"Alright then. Let's go." Now wasn't the time for her to worry about such things. She had bigger problems to deal with. Like food, clothing, supplies, and beating Team Plasma to a messy pulp. For the purpose of removing any of Rocket's competition, of course. Giovanni would probably appreciate that. Not out of anger or for revenge. She hesitantly took N's hand, attempting to pass it off as a way to guide him through the trees, and started off.

* * *

The pair had spent two days in Lacunosa Town, getting supplies together. This was the one settlement in the whole region that Rain refused to cause trouble in, due to the people's traditional ways and the respect and kindness they gave her thanks to her status as an Aura Guardian. A few, such as the owner of a cafe she and N had eaten at once or staff at the little clothing boutique, went so far as to attempt to allow the girl to get things free of charge, though she insisted upon paying every time. Those two days were also used to help her (adorably shy, as she discovered) companion begin adjusting to the outside world and humans that were far less cruel than Ghetsis.

She'd also, in private of course, explained to N about the faked fight with her sister in the hospital and why exactly she was in Unova — to cause chaos that Alanna would put a stop to (while gathering Gym Badges) before, with the help of an unnamed but very powerful Pokemon, the redhead would ascend to the position of Champion.

The green-haired teen had frowned a little at this, but merely warned that the current Champion would not be easy to defeat. When Rain tried to prod for a little more info, he'd clammed up for the next few hours.

Now, as they were departing — Rain dressed in a lavender t-shirt with a plum colored Pokeball design on it, a navy blue jacket, blue jeans, and black sneakers with her belt and bag and N wearing a white, button-down shirt with the top two buttons undone, black slacks, and gray sneakers with his usual accessories (planet-like necklace, gold and black Rubik's Cube, thick black and white bracelet, and golden, square-shaped bangles), black and white cap, and a sturdy grey backpack — a small crowd of the town's inhabitants had gathered to say goodbye; despite the two not staying long enough to really make friends, many of the townspeople decided that an Aura Guardian deserved a farewell, even if it wasn't a grand one. There were also those in the crowd that had come to see N off. The boy's quiet politeness and awkward social abilities and understandings had apparently been found as rather endearing — especially by the teenage girls inhabiting the town, much to Rain's extreme annoyance.

She was proud to say though, that she had managed to not flip out on a single one for the duration of their stay.

Well, except for that one that she'd found trying to get the poor boy into her bedroom.

Fangirls (Ugh, she hated that term. And not because she could be classified as one.) aside, the two days had been good. And Rain, as well as N, was pleased to see Pokemon dotting the crowd, both wild and trained, possibly even outnumbering the humans. Aura Guardians, though having mostly faded from the memory of human cultures, were widely known and revered among Pokemon, while the creatures seemed to be almost drawn towards N, and the pair's presence in Lacunosa Town had brought various Pokemon from the surrounding area for a visit. A few Absol from the Giant Chasm, with a small group of Metang floating nearby and a troop of Clefable from the same area, while a group of Combee led by a Vespiquen, a few Roselia, and a small herd of Rapidash and Ponyta from Route 12 made up the wild visitors, while here and there a trained Golurk towered over the crowd, a Hydreigon flew in a lazy circle overhead, accompanied by a Braviary and a Tranquill, and a Patrat, couple of Lillipup, and an Axew ran around, weaving in and out of the crowd as they played what Rain thought looked like a game of tag.

And then there was the Purrloin sitting on N's shoulder. The feline claimed to have gotten attached to the boy and wished to go along with him. N, always willing to believe the best of Pokemon, had agreed with a smile. Rain, however, was not quite so convinced. She'd caught sight of the Dark type reaching towards the boy's planet-like necklace or the oddly colored Rubik's Cube on more than one occasion, though as soon as he realized he was being watched, the devious little cat had turned away, adopting an innocent look.

With a short wave to the assembled crowd, Rain hefted her bag, packed with necessities (food, extra clothing, an awesome canvas piece that could be strung up as a hammock or laid out as a surface to sleep on, etc.) and turned to look at N, whose backpack was full of much of the same supplies (his own canvas, they'd agreed, would be used as a sheet when hers was functioning as a tarp). "Shall we go?"

"Where?"

"Hmm... If I remember correctly, following Route 13 takes us to Undella Town. It's a few days travel, so we'll stop there for supplies, and I'll cause a bit of chaos. Once Alanna shows up to chase me out, I figure we'll head towards..." She trailed off into thought as they walked.

"Humilau City is close by," N suggested softly after a few seconds of silence.

"Humid Luau?"

"Humilau. It was built recently to host a Water type Gym."

"I guess Unova's changed since my last visit. Well, that was, like, three years ago. Sure, Humilau sounds good. From there we can move to Nimbasa — by Teleport — and take a few days for vacation. I want to try the Battle Subway."

"The Battle Subway..." he murmured, not looking too enthusiastic. Then he brightened up, a look of childish hopefulness on his face that Rain found incredibly cute. "C-can we...ride the Ferris Wheel?" he requested shyly, blushing. Purrloin, looking disinterested, leapt down from his shoulder to prowl between the pair.

"In the amusement park? Sure." Her response resulted in what was quite possibly the largest smile she'd seen on his face. "I've actually never been on one. Are they fun?"

"I love Ferris Wheels," he admitted, looking down. After a moment, he hesitantly added, "And that one is...special to me."

"Why?" When he didn't answer, she pressed a little. "We've got a few days of walking before we reach Undella Town. Talking will help pass the time...though I won't pry if you don't wanna talk about it."

"N-no, it's fine. I was just...just remembering. During the period of time I was allowed out in the world, before..."

"Before the abuse started?"

"Y-yeah." His head lowered a little more, and he lapsed back into silence.

"The Ferris Wheel is special because...?" Rain prompted after a moment.

"I... I met people there, that's all."

"Friends?" She spotted the uncertainty that crossed his face.

"I don't know," he murmured. "They were Trainers. The two that helped me the most in realizing that not all who worked with Pokemon were evil."

"They sound like friends of yours to me."

"It was a while ago, and I'm not sure we were ever friends to begin with. No, I think it's safe to say that you're the only human friend I have right now, Rain."

She clasped her hand with his, lacing their fingers together. "I'll be the best friend I can." Those words cut at her heart slightly, but she pushed the feeling away. It wasn't like she'd confessed her crush, and there was no way N would tell her if he felt anything romantic for her (if he could even recognize the feeling and know what it was) with how shy he was. So the term 'friend' being used...

Once again, Rain reflected on how quickly and how hard she'd fallen for the green-haired boy. Oh, she wanted to tell him of her feelings so badly, but it wasn't normal (or at least, realistic) for someone to experience love at first sight, or for that feeling to grow more intense within the days spent alongside a crush. Or maybe it was. She was new when it came to love. N was her first crush.

 _I'll tell him soon_ , she promised herself.

* * *

 _LDR: This was short. Sorry. But not much went on in it; it's merely a filler chapter, setting things up for next chapter and satisfying the readers that probably thought I died or something. Though it does raise a few questions... What is going on with Solom that has Alanna so concerned? Is Purrloin really a devious little antagonist, or is Rain imagining things? Speaking of our favorite criminal, is she really going to confess her feelings for N, or will she continue to procrastinate, passing them off as unhealthy, not-normal thoughts?_

 _Anyway, this story is going to get very fast-paced. There will be time-skips (never huge ones) and events may seem to come and go quickly. There's a lot I want to get done with this fic, but I also don't want to turn it into some huge-ass (forgive my language) novel._

 _Also, before I go, it's getting into November guys. That means Christmas is approaching. And I plan to put up another chapter of The Least He Could Do. Remember, that one-shot that I'm turning into a collected of one-shots as a 'companion' to this fic? Yeah, that. It's gonna be a Christmas one-shot, probably posted around the week of Christmas._

 _Okay, that's it, I believe. R &R, hope you enjoyed, and LDR out!_


	8. Chapter 8

**Unova's Downfall**

 **Chapter 8**

 _LDR: Wow, what is this? An update?_

 _Thanks to Kira RaKash for leaving a review, Raina King, boomingmaster, MalekTheStoryteller, and The Inspectre for following and favoriting me, SilverWolfSW and Blaupfote for favoriting this fic, and Dragon Fern for following it, and Jessthekarategirl for following me._

* * *

So far, the trip to Undella Town was going very smoothly. The weather had been wonderful, progress had been quick, and Purrloin hadn't acted up. Yet. Rain was still watching closely. Or at least as closely as she could while giving N what attention he deserved (plus more than a little extra). It was the second day, late afternoon, and they had drawn within sight of Undella Town when Purrloin finally sprang into action. Rain let out a shout as she spotted a purple streak out of the corner of her eye. At almost the same time, N glanced towards his shoulder, where Purrloin had been sitting, then lifted a hand to his chest, blue eyes widening. "My necklace!"

"That furry little thief took it!" Rain growled, spinning on her heel and taking off after Purrloin.

N darted after her. "I'm sure Purrloin is just playing."

"N, Pokemon are just like humans. Not all of them are good." She received no reply, and didn't risk glancing back. Purrloin was fast, and she hadn't yet enhanced her speed with her Aura. If she looked away, she risked losing sight of the Pokemon, who'd left the wide dirt road and was already bobbing in and out of sight among the tall grass.

The chase lasted a few minutes longer. Rain could hear N gasping for breath behind her, but was too focused on keeping Purrloin in sight. The only reason she hadn't sped herself up and darted ahead to grab the feline was due to a worry about leaving N alone. They were pretty lost right now, and didn't seem all that close to any sort of civilization. Ideal for a trap.

Just then, something tickled at the back of her mind. She brushed it off, not allowing anything to distract her. Until she heard a cry of pain from behind her. She halted and spun to see her companion fall to the ground, clutching his head. The tickling sensation in her own mind intensified, and now that she wasn't quite so focused on Purrloin, she realized she knew the feeling.

Something was trying to use a Psychic on her. It was very likely that was what was afflicting N. She looked around, eyes narrowing. "Come out!" she announced. "I know you're there!" Her ears pricked up, Aura enhancing her hearing and allowing her to hear whispered voices from somewhere nearby.

"Why isn't it working on her?"

"I don't know!"

"What do we do?"

"I don't know!"

"Some help you are!"

Rain cast a concerned glance towards N, then darted in the direction of the voices. They had been pretty close by. Ah, there. A rather wide boulder entered her field of vision. She gathered her strength and jumped, landing atop it and looking down at the startled faces of two Plasma Grunts, each one accompanied by a Chandelure.

"Ack!" The two stumbled back, one pointing at her with a trembling finger. "Ch-Chandelure, stop her! Psychic!"

The feeling was back, stronger than ever. This time, Rain didn't just brush it off. She closed her eyes and turned her attention inward, feeling both of the Chandelure's consciousnesses in contact with hers. "Hmph." Her mind surged towards her attackers', mercilessly battering them, pushing them back. A smirk grew on her face as they suddenly retreated to their own minds, and she opened her eyes...just in time for an arm to be grabbed and lifted, and something tight to be placed around her wrist.

Her Aura! She couldn't connect with her Aura! Her gaze dropped to see a thin band, glowing light blue, clamped around her wrist. A furious glare was turned on the Plasma Grunts, who quailed and scrambled back.

"S-S-Strangely I'm terrified even when she c-can't get to her powers!"

"Get your Purrloin and let's get outta here!"

"R-Right! We got the b-bracelet on her, like we were supposed to, but I'm not sticking around to try to take her!" The two recalled their Chandelures and turned to flee.

Rain wasn't about to let them get away. She followed, jaw clenched angrily. They thought they could take her Aura from her? Just as Purrloin leapt out of an apparent hiding place in the grass, N's necklace still clutched in his mouth, Rain jumped forward, tackling the Grunt that Purrloin had been aiming for. The feline landed on her back, and the Rocket Agent twisted an arm up behind her to grab the Pokemon's tail. The other Grunt just continued to run.

Rain stood, now gripping Purrloin's scruff in one hand and the collar of the shaking Grunt's uniform in the other. "Give me that necklace," she hissed, glaring at Purrloin. The feline's tail puffed up and he meekly opened his mouth, dropping the accessory. She set him down and picked it up, and he scampered away. The Grunt began to squirm around, trying to get free.

"Don't hurt me! Please don't hurt me! If you waste time on me, your friend's gonna be gone when you get back!"

That did it for her. She dropped her victim, and ran back the way she'd come, worry melting away when she saw N unsteadily getting to his feet. Of course the little Rattata had lied! She should have known, but she hadn't been going to take the chance.

"N! Are you okay? How's your head? How's your mind?" She halted in front of him, instinctively reaching up to place a hand on his forehead before remembering that, without her Aura, she couldn't do anything to help him.

Rather than answer her, he frowned and touched the band around her wrist. "What's...this?" he asked, sounding only slightly shaken.

She scowled at it, trying to grab it and yank it off, but it was too tight to get a grip under, and there was some sort of really tiny clasp with a small keyhole keeping the two ends connected. "I don't know what it is, but I can't use my Aura!" She was starting to panic now that the anger had worn off. This wasn't like back in the hospital, where she could sense her Aura but just couldn't focus enough to use it. She was completely cut off. She couldn't even sense it and she didn't like that! Her Aura had been a part of her for as long as she could remember. Her scrabbling at the band became frantic. "It's cut me off from my Aura and I can't get it off! I want it off!" Her breathing quickened, and she felt a whimper building up. "I– I want it off... Get it off me..."

The Watcher peeked up out of her shadow. If the Gengar had eyebrows, one would certainly be raised right now as he pointed towards her bag. " _If you'd bother to calm yourself and think instead of freaking out right away,_ " he stated dryly, " _you'd remember your lock-picks_."

"R-Right." She reached into her bag, pulling out her small kit, which had been moved from her shoe to the messenger bag days ago, when she'd had to dress up like a Plasma Grunt to get herself and N out of that castle. With a shaking hand, selected a pick and carefully inserted it into the small keyhole, taking deep breaths to attempt to calm herself.

All at once, a sharp pain shot up her arm to spread over her body. She couldn't help it; she screamed. Still gripping the lock-pick, which remained inserted into the keyhole, she dropped to her knees, arcs of electricity emanating from the glowing band to race over her body. She felt a hand close around her other wrist, pulling her hand away from, and the lock-pick out of, the keyhole. The electricity stopped, and she clenched her jaw as small spasms continued to wrack her form for another few seconds.

"Rain?" She looked up to see N crouched over her. At his shoulder floated The Watcher, head tilted in concern. A few of her miniaturized Pokeballs were shaking, the Pokemon inside wanting out so they could see what was wrong. Rain swallowed, coughed once, then looked at her lock-pick.

"It's ruined..." she rasped. Indeed it was, melted out of any useful shape. She dropped it on the ground and stared at the bracelet. "I c-can't get this off. I can't get it off. I– I–" She hesitated. "I can't do anything without my Aura. N-No Teleporting, no mental abilities, no–"

"Rain." N's soft voice cut her off. "Are you alright?"

"..." She bit her lip, glanced at the glowing band around her wrist, then sniffled and moved closer to bury her face against his chest and wrap her arms around him. "No!" she wailed, her voice only slightly muffled. "I don't know what I'm doing without my Aura! I-It's like I lost part of my body! I've had this connection to my Aura since as long as I can remember, and n-now it's g-g-gone! Like it never existed in the first place!" The one little part of her mind that was still thinking rationally was nothing but embarrassed. She was in hysterics, just clinging to N. And all over the blocking off of her Aura? It wasn't like someone had died!

Still, this feeling inside her now...it was empty, it was dark, it was frightening. But it was also quiet. She was...alone? Her other half...wasn't there? That evil, raging monster that she occasionally became was gone, with her Aura. She shouldn't be surprised. It was because of her Aura that that other Rain even existed at all. And while she hated that side of herself, with the loss of her Aura came what felt like the loss of another person. Someone she had a connection with that was so deep, it was as if she had disappeared along with the other. But she was still here, clinging to N and crying like a baby and oh Arceus, what was she _doing_?

Finally that rationality overcame the panic. She forced herself to calm down and pulled away from the older teen, stopping her tears and wiping her cheeks dry. "S-Sorry. I just... It was a little unexpected and disconcerting to suddenly lose something I've had all my life," she mumbled, putting up her typical, strong facade once more. "Umm... I got your necklace back for you." She held out a hand. An empty hand. Her other one was empty too. Oh no, she hadn't dropped it had she?! "It's– It's around here somewhere," she laughed nervously, turning to check her bag.

"You dropped it." N bent down to retrieve the planet-like accessory from the dirt at her feet. He knotted the two ends of the broken string together and placed the necklace back around his neck, smiling faintly at her. "Thank you. This necklace means a lot to me. But are you sure you're alright?"

"No problem. And yeah, I'm fine. I promise." She gave him a thumbs up and a small grin. "I'll get along without my Aura until we figure out to remove this damn bracelet thing. I'll just have to be normal for a change." She used her Aura so much for everyday little things though. Even something as simple as manifesting it into a platform to stand on and zipping through the air on it like a bird Pokemon was impossible now. She loved 'flying' so much. She could still ride a Pokemon, right? It wouldn't be the same though...

"Well, unless you know where we are, we're lost. I didn't pay attention at all when we were chasing Purrloin."

A slightly troubled look appeared on his face, and he glanced away. But he didn't say anything. After a gentle prodding from Rain to share what was on his mind, he blinked and returned his gaze to her. "S-Sorry," he mumbled. "I didn't know you wanted to hear."

"N, this is one of the last things I am in the mood for," she snapped. He quailed, and she instantly softened her tone, choosing her next words with care. "That came out harsher than intended, sorry. Remember everything I've been telling you. You don't have to apologize for every little thing. And of course I want to know what you're thinking. I care about you, and so if something is bothering you, I'm here to listen."

"..."

"Do you want to talk about it?" He paused then shook his head to indicate that no, he didn't. Rain lifted a hand; he flinched. She extended that hand; he closed his eyes and choked back a whimper. She gently let her fingers trail down his cheek; he peered at her, shaking like a leaf. "N, Psychic is a dangerous attack when used directly on an untrained mind. I wouldn't be surprised if it had some kind of side effect. Judging by how quickly you've grown skittish again, I would guess...memories?"

He reached up to gently lift her hand away from his cheek. "I-I'm alright. I know I'm safe with you. When I saw you lift your hand..."

"You just reacted. It's alright." She twisted her wrist around in his light grip and slipped her hand into his. "Remember this past week or so. I honestly don't know how long it's been. The outside world is a nicer place. Everyone you've met out here so far has been nothing but kind, right?" Well, except Purrloin. But she wasn't going to bring that up. When he nodded, she smiled and stepped a little closer, wrapping her free arm loosely around him. "Nothing's going to happen to you while I'm around, I promise. You trust me, right?"

His answer came without hesitation. "Yes."

"C'mon, let's see if we can find our way back to the road. If we just keep moving, we'll find a road or a town or a city eventually." Her Gengar slipped back into her shadow as she turned to look around. "Which way do you think we should go?"

"I– I don't know."

"Well, neither do I, so just pick a direction at random."

He looked around. "Wh-When we ran after Purrloin...our backs were to the sun." He pointed to were the bright orb was beginning to sink towards the horizon. "We can go back that way. U-Until we find the road again."

"I'm glad someone was paying attention," she laughed, lacing her fingers with his and starting off towards the sun. "Let's go."

When he started after her, she slowed to walk by his side, matching his pace. Neither of them said anything, though Rain was pleased to see a small smile appear on N's face as wild Pokemon began to gather around the pair. There weren't many. A small flock of Tailow and Swellow. An Absol. A couple of Crobats and Golbats. Two Audino. Some Tangela and a Tangrowth.

The Audino in particular both stuck close to N, the feelers on their ears resting against the arm that Rain wasn't clinging happily to. She guessed it was probably because whatever feelings from him they could sense weren't too great. She didn't need her Aura to tell he was troubled. She was brought out of her thoughts by something tugging lightly at the back of her shirt. Twisting her head over her shoulder to look behind her, she grinned at the sight of one of the Crobats hanging off the back of her shirt, four wings folded around itself. She faced forward again, not for two somethings to hit each other and tighten a grip. Now she had a Golbat sitting on each shoulder. She couldn't help but giggle as another Crobat came to hang from the front of her shirt. N looked over with a smile, just as a Tailow flew over to perch atop her head. Curiously, she held out her free arm, and almost immediately a Swellow and a few more Tailow claimed it as a perch. It was getting hard to hold all these Pokemon.

N, too, appeared to be serving as a roost now, the rest of the small flock of Tailow and Swellow sitting on his shoulders, his head, and whatever part of his arm the Audino didn't have their feelers resting on. Rain giggled again, and his smile grew a little.

Laden down by wild Pokemon as they were, the two still managed to find their way back to the road relatively quickly. The sun was low in the sky by this point, and the diurnal Pokemon were beginning to leave. The Tangela were gathered up by the Tangrowth and herded away. The flock of Tailow and Swellow lifted into the air as one and flew off. The Audino bid N and Rain goodbye in their soft voices then turned to walk back the way they'd came. As the sun sank lower, the Absol looked at the two of them silently, then slipped away, while the Golbats and Crobats returned to the skies, leaving to go start their nighttime hunt. The two humans were alone again. Rain was first to break the silence.

"We could stop and camp now and get to Undella Town in the morning, or we could keep going now and reach it tonight."

"I'd like to stay out here tonight," came the quiet response.

"Whatever you want." She finally let go of his hand, stretching her arms up above her head. "Let's not sleep on the side of the road though." He nodded, and the two turned back to set up 'camp' elsewhere, though Rain was careful their chosen site had a distant view of the road.

* * *

N lay on his back, looking up at the cloudy night sky, thinking. He'd been happier than he'd felt in a long time these past six days with Rain. Finally free of his father, out of the castle, and with someone that genuinely cared about him and even shared his views towards Pokemon. It was more than he'd ever dreamed of when he'd been stuck in the castle, just a week ago. He felt happy and safe. More importantly, he felt...human again. Rain wasn't like Ghetsis. She didn't treat him like an animal, like a heartless freak, like dirt. She treated him like a person. Better yet, she treated him like a person she liked. It made him think about those two Trainers that he'd met during his search for the Light Stone. They'd been kind too, to both him and their Pokemon. What were their names? Oh yes. Hilda White and Hilbert Black. He remembered they'd been kind, and he remembered their names, but he was rather disappointed to find that was all he could recall.

The teen rolled over onto his side, looking at Rain. She was sitting away from him, her back to him. "I'm going to keep watch. I'm not that tired," she'd said earlier. As N looked at her now, a cloud rolled across the sky, uncovering the full moon, which suddenly lent the girl a silvery glow. It gave her an almost magical look, like one of those faeries he'd read about once in a storybook.

N knew how Rain felt about him. Her affections weren't exactly subtle. He might not know much about how prospective mates acted, but even he could tell that she wanted him to be hers. She focused so much of her attention on him, always seeking out just the smallest bits of contact, usually in the form of holding hands, and her cheeks were often colored varying shades of pink or red around him.

He had no idea how to react.

On one hand, there were many things about her that he liked. She was so kind, caring, and gentle, and despite having said she wasn't a very patient person, she'd been overall relatively patient with him as he struggled to relearn how to be his own person again. She was smart and she was funny, and she loved Pokemon. She was so, so strong. He envied her strength, wished he could be like her. And she was rather pretty too, he supposed.

But he still didn't know her for very long. Six days was a short time. He didn't really know all that much about her either. He was also very sure that he didn't want to take a mate yet. And even if he did, he didn't think it would be Rain. She was a good friend. That was it.

Besides, his father was clearly hunting for him, and he didn't want to put Rain in danger. That knowledge put quite the damper on the last six days. Yes, he'd been so happy. But how long would it last? He couldn't avoid Ghetsis forever, and once he was captured and taken back, he would be hurt and beaten and– No, Rain said she would keep him safe. She'd promised she wouldn't let him be hurt. But what could one person do against all of Team Plasma? She was brave and she was strong, but she was one person, and Team Plasma was many. If enough of them came after him, Rain wouldn't be able to do a thing. This wonderful freedom was only temporary, and then he'd very like be facing the worst punishment of his life. The thought sickened him.

But he'd hoped one day that he'd be free, and now he was. Maybe if he hoped he stayed free...? With a soft sigh, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Rain drew her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs as she stared up at what stars could be seen between the clouds. She'd resized her Pokeballs (why they'd been shrunken in the first place, she had no idea) and set them aside before moving away to sit here. She was tired, but she knew she wouldn't be able to get to sleep; she felt too...empty inside. So she'd volunteered to take watch. As a cloud scudded across the dark sky, the bright full moon was uncovered. She closed her eyes and tilted her face towards it, sighing. And she just sat. She must have slipped into a meditative state out of habit, because she was certain that she hadn't fallen asleep but the next thing she knew she was wrapped up in Nido's embrace. Blinking, the girl leaned back against the Nidoking's chest, tilting her head back further to look up at him. "Hey," she whispered softy.

" _Rain..._ "

What? Her eyes widened, and she glanced down at the band around her wrist. It was still there, glowing softly. She looked back up at Nido. "I can still understand you."

He snorted in reply. " _Of course you can, little Raindrop._ " She pouted a bit at his nickname for her. " _It was never an Aura skill to begin with. You grew up surrounded by Pokemon, you spent some years being raised by a Pokemon. You learned our language yourself; you don't cheat with your Aura. You didn't seem so surprised when The Watcher spoke you to earlier. I saw it from my Pokeball._ "

"Well, he's like General and Spartan. He can be telepathic if he wants. And I honestly can't tell the difference between the human language and Pokemon language. It all just sounds like the same language to me." She shifted position in his lap, curling up with her head resting on his arm.

" _My little Raindrop..._ "

"Stop calling me that. I'm not a baby anymore." She smiled nonetheless.

" _You may not be a hatchling in age anymore, but you'll always be my little one. I love you, Rain._ " He bent his head down to gently nuzzle her.

"Mmmh..." She closed her eyes, snuggling up against him and trying to ignore the emptiness eating away at her from within. "I love you too...Dad."

" _How are you doing?_ " He touched a claw to the bracelet locked around her wrist.

Rain sighed, staring dully at the object. "I– Not good. I don't like it, Nido. I hate it. M-My Aura's just...gone. Like it was never even there. And my other half too. I'm glad she can't cause any trouble, but it feels strange. Like part of me disappeared."

" _Part of you did. Whether you want to admit it or not, Rain, she is a piece of yourself._ "

The young teen was silent as she shifted position in the Nidoking's lap again, peering around his side to catch sight of N's sleeping form. An envious sigh left her. "Look at him," she murmured. "He's so strong. He's endured years of torture and abuse, but wasn't so beaten down that he was too frightened to leave with me. I get cut off from my Aura, and I'm a mess almost immediately. I wish I could be as strong as N..."

" _You are strong._ "

"No. I'm faking it most of the time. Putting up a false demeanor. That strong, in-control person...that's not me and you know it."

" _That is you, Rain,_ " he grunted quietly. " _And we both know it. You just have bumps in your road sometimes._ " Nido turned himself around so that he sat facing the sleeping boy his Trainer, his hatchling, was so fascinated with. " _What about him convinced you so quickly, my little Raindrop, that you're so certain you want him as a mate?_ " He didn't have to look to know Rain was blushing.

"I don't know..." Her face scrunched up in thought. Why did she love N so much? "I guess, when I first saw him, I just liked how he looked. He's...hot. Humans are weird. They can be infatuated with someone based on appearance alone. That was probably it at the beginning. That might still be it now, but I don't think so. I've gotten to know him these past few days, and he's...he's perfect. He's sweet, and his social awkwardness makes him so adorable. His smile is amazing, and he's smart too. He's the reason we're not still wandering out there, lost." She gestured towards the field of long grass that led to a wall of cliffs. "And like I said, he's so strong. And the way he thinks about Pokemon...he loves them so much." She didn't get a reply, so she just cuddled up to Nido. The two stayed like that in silence, until Rain yawned.

" _You should go to sleep, little hatchling. It's past your bedtime._ "

"I can't fall asleep. I can't get over this emptiness inside me. I promise I'll try, but not yet. I'm going to sit up here a while longer. Besides, I'm on watch."

" _Well I am tired, and I am going to go sleep._ " Nido lifted her out of his lap and set her down, then stood. He looked at her shadow, addressing the Gengar within. " _Make sure she gets some sleep tonight, or ghost or no ghost, I'll turn you into a pancake,_ " he growled softly. The Watcher's hand lifted out of the shadow, giving Nido a thumbs up. The massive Pokemon nodded, then turned and lumbered away, back to his Pokeball.

Rain smiled faintly. "Night, Dad," she whispered, before turning to gaze out towards the road. Scarcely a minute passed before a voice from behind her caught her attention. She looked over her shoulder at N, who had begun to mumble in his sleep, the moonlight shining on his distressed face.

"No..."

Her brow furrowed at the fear in his voice, and she stood, silently walking closer.

"No, I'm sorry."

She sat down, then carefully scooted a bit closer to gently lift his head and place it in her lap, one hand stroking through his soft hair.

"Don't. Please don't."

Should she wake him? She bit her lower lip, watching him start to toss and turn, his head moving in her lap. Slowly, hesitantly, she reached out to lay a hand on his shoulder, bending over him. "N, wake up."

His beautiful blue eyes shot open, filled with fright and panic. Then his gaze focused on her face and he seemed to calm himself. "Rain..."

"You were having a nightmare," she whispered, scooting back then standing to walk around and lay next to him. "You're okay now."

"Just a nightmare," he said softly. A troubled look appeared on his face, the fright returning with it. "Rain, I'm scared."

"Of what? Ghetsis? You're free, N. And I'm here. Didn't I promise I wouldn't let him hurt you?"

"He's not going to stop hunting me, Rain. And eventually there's sure to come a point where...wh-where he sends so many members of Team Plasma that you can't deal with all of them. You're just one person."

"Maybe so, but let him send the whole of Team Plasma against me. I'm not alone. I have my Pokemon, my closest partners and family. I have Team Rocket to back me, and I have the Aura Guardians too. Even if they're all based in other regions, that doesn't mean they're nonexistent here in Unova. Don't worry, N. I'm not going to let you be taken back there."

" _Both of you close your eyes and go back to sleep. I'll keep watch. And N, if I have to, I'll hop between Rain's shadow and yours with a Dream Eater all night to keep the nightmares away,_ " The Watcher suddenly chipped in, peeking out at the two.

"N? Do you mind if I sleep here? Like, right here? I feel empty inside without my Aura, and I think it might help if I'm close to another person."

He nodded, then looked towards the Gengar watching them. "Thank you for your offer, but I'll be alright."

Waiting for the older teen to close his eyes, Rain then looked at The Watcher and mouthed 'do it anyway' before shutting her own eyes.

* * *

 _LDR: Whew! That felt long! Is it long? *checks the word count* 5k+words? Yep, pretty long for me. Woohoo!_

 _Anyway, yeah. Stuff happened and now Rain can't use her Aura. Dun-dun-duuuun! Also, a little bit from N's perspective here, and some of daddy Nido and his little Raindrop. *snickers*_

 _I don't really think much else needs to be said. Review? Please? LDR out!_


	9. Chapter 9

**Unova's Downfall**

 **Chapter 9 - Old Friends**

 _LDR: I knoooooow, it's been forever. School is a thing, and I've discovered the torture of AP classes. *sighs* Also, I'm lazy. I'm sorry everyone, and I'd like to take a moment to thank everyone who is sticking with this story despite my lack of frequent updates. Thank you all, so very much. It actually does mean a lot to me._

 _I'm no longer going to be calling out people for dropping reviews, follows, and favorites in A/Ns anymore, so I do apologize if that leaves you out due to you being a more recent reader. Just don't let it discourage you from showing your support, and know that I see whenever someone does review, favorite, or follow, and it brings a grin to my face every time. So thanks in advance._

 _Umm, I think that's it. On to the chapter?_

* * *

A warm puff of breath against her cheek and a growl in her ear woke Rain the next morning. As she groggily blinked her eyes open, she was greeted with the oh so lovely sight of none other than Nido bent over her, glaring. "Wha–?"

" _Explain._ " He straightened up, pointing at her.

Rather confused, she let her gaze slide sideways, then turned her head. The sight that now greeted her was the much more lovely sleeping face of N. ... ... ...oh. Now she realized what had her Nidoking so worked up. She had an arm around the other teen, and they were lying with their fronts practically pressed together. Rain quickly pulled her arm back and rolled away, springing to her feet and waving her hands. "N-No! It's not what it looks like, I swear!"

A rumble reverberated within his throat, and it took Rain a moment to realize that Nido wasn't growling; he was laughing. " _I know, little Raindrop. Your reaction is amusing._ "

"Jerk," she muttered, but she smiled. Out of reflex, she turned to scan their surroundings for dangers that had crept up on them in the night, tapping into her Aura. Or at least, trying to tap into her Aura. There was a brief moment of panic when she realized she couldn't before she remembered the strange bracelet locked around her wrist. Her smile vanished as she stared down at the thing, hating it already. "We should get moving. We're almost to Undella Town and could do with restocking a few supplies. I want a shower too, and maybe a little beach time." She returned to N's side, crouching down and reaching out to shake his shoulder.

" _And?_ "

"And I heard that Sinnoh's previous Champion hangs around during the summer and I wanna see if she'll let me battle her." She stood up as N stirred, holding a hand down to help him up. "Morning. Time for us to get moving. How'd you sleep?"

"No nightmares," he reported with a yawn, taking her hand.

" _I suppose you aren't going to be allowing me to battle?_ "

Rain pulled N to his feet then turned to Nido, shaking her head. "I know I could win if I used you. Your strength really is absurd. But you also know that I want to prove my strength with the Pokemon I've raised myself."

" _You're going to be at a disadvantage with only five Pokemon._ "

"I'll stop by the Pokemon Center, get someone else sent over to me. Maybe Coal. Sorry, Nido. I know you wanna battle, but I'm doing this fair."

"What's going on?"

"Debating what I'm gonna do in Undella Town. Hoping to find a particular person to battle. I know you don't like the idea, so if you'd like to do something else while that's going on, Nido can go with you for protection."

" _If I can't battle, I'm at least going to watch,_ " the Nidoking protested.

" _I'll go with N,_ " The Watcher volunteered, emerging from Rain's shadow to slip into N's.

"Thank you," the teen in question said.

"No problem. Now, shall we go?" Rain held up Nido's Pokeball, and the Nidoking tapped the button, dissipating into a stream of red light that was sucked inside. "We should be able to get there within maybe an hour or two, so do you wanna find a cafe and grab some breakfast there or eat while we go?"

"I can wait."

"Alright." Rain turned. Then turned again. And a third time. "Umm..."

"What is it?"

"Well, I've been leading us towards Undella Town by using my Aura. I don't know the way without it."

"Don't we just follow the path?"

"Yeah, but...which way did we come from? I got all turned around last night." She rubbed the back of her neck with a sigh.

N, meanwhile, had adopted a thoughtful look and glanced at the sun. "The sun rises in the east. And Undella Town is roughly southeast of Lacunosa Town. We need to go that way." He lifted a hand to point, then dropped it almost immediately as Rain stared at him. "Wh-What? Did I do something wrong? I'm–"

"If you end that thought with 'sorry' I will smack you." Her hands flew to her mouth as he flinched back. "That was thoughtless of me! N, I didn't mean it, I swear! I was only joking around! Oh, I'm so stupid. I'm sorry! It's just, you definitely didn't do anything wrong and you don't need to apologize. That was brilliant. Using the sun like a compass, and knowing which direction Undella's in." He lifted his shoulders in a tiny shrug, looking slightly embarrassed, mumbling that it was just something he had learned. Rain kicked at the ground, then started walking, motioning for him to follow. "I never learned that."

"What did you learn?" He fell into step beside her.

She gave a shrug of her own. "Whatever was important for me to become a good Rocket. Like how to pick locks, how to handle various weapons as well as fight without them, things like that. And enough of the essentials to get by, like how to read and write and how to do math. I never actually went to school," she admitted.

"I haven't either. I was tutored by my– by Ghetsis and the other Sages."

Rain muttered in distaste, and he hesitated. "Sorry. It's just...well, you know my opinion by now. Please, continue. What sort of things did you learn, aside from that stuff about the sun and how you used it?"

"In a way, the same things as you. But I was being groomed to be Reshiram's Hero instead of a Team Rocket Agent. I was taught things like the the geography of Unova and the myths and legends concerning the legendary Pokemon. Along with, as you called them, the basics."

"I was taught about the myths and legends of Kanto and Johto."

"Would you tell me some?"

Rain grinned. "Sure. Let's see... There's a place in Ecruteak City, in Johto, called the Burned Tower. A little over 150 years ago, it was called the Brass Tower, and it was said to be Lugia's preferred roost. But one day, a bolt of lightning struck the tower, setting it on fire. Three nameless Pokemon died in that fire before a downpour of rain put it out. Ho-Oh was said to roost in the neighboring tower, Bell Tower, and so when the Brass Tower burned down, he arrived. The death of the Pokemon stirred his heart and moved him to act, and with a flap of his wings, he revived the three Pokemon, reincarnating them as the elemental forces that had played a part in the tower's devastation. Raikou, the lightning that struck the tower. Entei, the flames that ravaged it. Suicune, the rain that extinguished the fire. The legendary Beast Trio said to roam Johto, seeking out powerful Trainers to fight alongside."

"Where was Lugia when her tower burnt down?"

Rain scratched the back of her head, shrugging a little. "The legend doesn't say. All I know is that she relocated to an undersea cavern below the Whirl Islands and fell into a slumber. I've never asked Lugia. We try not to bring up the burning of her tower; she's rather miffed, to put it mildly, that even after 150 years, none of the people from Ecruteak have tried to rebuild or even preserve her tower, and it fall further and further into ruin each year."

N frowned at that. "I'd rebuild it for her. Even if I had to do it on my own and it took me the rest of my life."

"I'd help you. But the people of Ecruteak like the tourism the Burned Tower provides. Disrespectful twats can't seem to understand that it's the _legend_ that attracts people there, not the fact that the tower is burnt and in ruins, and that if it's rebuilt, the legend will still be there." She paused suddenly, squinting down the road in front of them, then pointing. "Undella Town! I can see it; we're nearly there."

* * *

Upon arrival, Rain and N had headed straight for the Pokemon Center, the former getting her Pokemon checked over quickly and turning her attention to the PC, letting the latter handle checking them into rooms for the night. Rain should have known better, and wasn't sure whether to be elated or embarrassed that N had gotten them one room to share, much to the Nurse Joy's obvious amusement. Settling for a bit of both emotions, the pair had gone to their room long enough for each to have a turn in the shower, then went out to find something to eat, after which they split up. N had gone off to explore the town with The Watcher hidden in his shadow, and Rain went in search of Sinnoh's ex-Champion, riding up on Nido's shoulder.

" _Are you going to fight a full match?_ "

"I've been considering it. I mean, I did get another Pokemon so I wouldn't be short one since I'm not using you. But probably not. I was thinking more like three Pokemon each. I already know which three, regardless of what she uses. Hey, listen!" She grabbed the horn on his head so that she wouldn't fall as she leaned forward and pointed towards a cluster of villas, from where the faint sounds of a Pokemon battle were barely audible, at least to her. Nido probably heard them better.

" _Yes, I know. There is a reason I'm walking in that direction._ "

"Oh. Heh, right." She blinked as an explosion of smoke billowed up from behind the villas. "Wow. Intense battle. Go faster?" She repositioned herself on Nido's shoulder so that she could then swing herself around to his back, clutching his spines. The Nidoking began to run, thundering towards the villas, then skirting around them and coming to a halt within sight of a battlefield behind them, smoke and kicked up dust beginning to clear and settle. Rain squinted, silently cursing the lock on her Aura.

It didn't take too long for visibility to be restored enough to make out the four– no five figures around the battlefield. Two, of course, were Pokemon, the first being a large, green serpent with a white underbelly and yellow curls on its back, and the second a bipedal shark-ish creature with thin arms that each ended in a single large claw. Who she assumed to be their Trainers stood on either end of the field, behind their respective Pokemon, while a single spectator stood off to the side.

She glanced there first, quickly assessing the perhaps sixteen-year-old boy. Brown hair, brown eyes, with a Pokeball design on his red and white cap, blue jacket, dark pants, sneakers and a messenger bag. Nothing that really caught her attention. The Serperior's Trainer caught her eye though because _dear Arceus what was up with her hair?_ There was a lot of it, that was for sure, as brown as the boy's and in a big ponytail that somehow stuck up from beneath her own Pokeball design cap. She was dressed in the impractical way of most novice Trainers, with a style that wasn't at all proper for being outdoors: white tank top, black vest, and very short denim shorts. She couldn't be a novice though, because not only did have a Serperior, but she looked around Rain's age. It was the Trainer commanding the Garchomp that really grabbed her attention though. A woman with long blonde hair, dressed all in black.

Rain tapped Nido's shoulder excitedly. "That's her! Well, she wasn't too hard to find at all." She pulled herself up to sit on his shoulder again rather than cling to his back, watching the rest of the battle play out.

"We have to finish this now, Serperior. Frenzy Plant!"

"Draco Meteor, Garchomp." The Garchomp seemed to have more energy left in her—Rain could tell the Pokemon was female due to the lack of a notch in the fin on her back—than the clearly tired Serperior, and with a roar, tilted her head back to spit out a giant orb of orange energy. It flew into the sky and hovered there for a few seconds before breaking apart, raining down on Serperior, who cried out and collapsed.

The girl sighed and pulled out a Pokeball, recalling the Grass type. "Dammit! I still can't beat you! Bla-ack, how do you do it?" she whined, crossing her arms and turning to face the spectator, whose only reply was "Practice."

Rain's attention was all on the blonde woman, who'd stepped forward to rub the yellow, star-shaped pattern on Garchomp's snout. "Don't be down. My heart is pounding hard; that was a heated battle. You really are a great Trainer, White."

"Not great enough to beat Rosa. I won't get to be Unova's Champ again until I beat you, Cynthia."

" _Two_ ex-Champions?" Rain burst out. Apparently, all three humans and now single Pokemon had been too absorbed in the battle to notice Nido's approach, and now turned to face Rain with varying amounts of surprise. Then they tilted their heads back to look up, realizing she was eight feet off the ground on her enormous Nidoking's shoulder. "Must be my lucky day. I was just going to see how I matched up against Cynthia, but now I want to battle you too! White, was it?"

"Yeah! I'm Hilda White, and that's Hilbert Black."

"We prefer to be called by our last names," Black put in.

"I'm Rain. Rain Tanaka."

"Your name's as exotic as your accent. I like it!"

Rain scrunched up her nose at White. "I don't have an accent. You have an accent. I sound like everyone should. Arceus created Kanto first, after all," she teased, leaping down from Nido's shoulder. She landed lightly, in a crouching position, then straightened up.

"Your Nidoking is impressive. I have never seen one so large." Cynthia's gaze flicked over Nido, giving him an appraising look. "I will accept your challenge on one condition, Rain."

"Yeah?"

"Our match will be a one versus one. My Garchomp against your Nidoking."

"Well...I really wanted to see how well I've raised my other Pokemon," the teen mused, running her chin. "But I suppose I can battle White for that purpose."

" _Yes! I want to see some action!_ " Nido roared, tail whipping behind him in excitement before smacking the ground, creating a tiny tremor and a shallow crater in the shape of the appendage.

"Careful, Nido." Rain faced Cynthia with a thumbs up. "He's in," she translated. "Will you accept my challenge too, White?"

The former Champion of Unova snapped her gaze away from the crater that Nido's tail still rested in, looking at Rain. "You bet. As long as you don't use that Nidoking."

"Scared of Nido?" Rain stuck her tongue out while running a hand over the gray plates that armored Nido's chest.

"I'm not scared!" White reached for a Pokeball. "Come on, let's have our battle right now!"

Black moved forward to intervene, placing his hand over White's to pull it away from the Pokeball. "None of your Pokemon are in any condition to fight after your battle with Cynthia," he said sharply.

"Oh...right. Heheh, I forgot." White rubbed the back of her head, sweatdropping.

"I can wait here while you take a trip to the Pokemon Center." Rain leaned back against Nido.

White gave a thumbs up and, accompanied by Cynthia, who also needed to have her team healed, headed off for the Pokemon Center. Black had opted to stay behind, and now fixed Rain with a hard stare. "I know who you are. I keep up with news from regions besides Unova, and your face is well known in Kanto and Johto. Why are you here?"

Rain's friendly expression dissolved into a faint sneer. "Aren't you a clever boy? Look, I'm not here to cause trouble. I just wanted to see how my Pokemon match up against a Champion's, even a former one. I want to raise my team to be able to best Red, and that is a personal goal. Not an assigned one."

"I doubt you would come all the way to Unova for a single battle."

"So what? Even if I do plan on causing trouble around Unova, who's gonna stop me? You?" Nido loomed behind her, a vicious gleam in his eyes as he glared down at the boy.

"I'll certainly try my best. Your Nidoking can't be invincible."

"He's not, but he's also pretty damn hard to beat. And he isn't my only strong Pokemon. You'll have to get through them too. And me of course." She glanced down at the band around her wrist, scowling. If she could just get it off... "Either way, I doubt you'll be much more than nuisance. I've already got a serious Trainer out to get me. Chased me here all the way from home. And she has a legendary Pokemon. If I haven't fallen to her yet, no way I'm falling to you."

"Even if I don't have much chance, Unova is my region. And you shouldn't count me out as a threat; I've beaten Cynthia in more than one battle."

"I'll beat Cynthia too, just watch." She looked away, muttering, "Though just between you and me, I'm not looking to really screw up Unova. I like this region. I'm just gonna be causing a bit of mischief here and there. I got bored at home."

"Heeeey! I'm back. Let's do this, Rain. How are we battling?" White came running up, skidding to a halt at one end of the battlefield.

Rain hurriedly moved to the other end, adopting her friendly demeanor again. "Single battle, three Pokemon each?"

"Short, but alright."

"Hey, where's Cynthia?" The Rocket Agent grabbed a Pokeball off her belt.

White copied her action. "I ran ahead, cause I'm super pumped for this. Come on, Krookodile!"

"I've got faith in you, Herumu."

The two Pokemon materialized almost simultaneously. White's appeared first: a bipedal, darkly colored crocodile-like creature. Rain's Cubone cried out and waved his Thick Club threateningly, glaring up at the much larger Pokemon through the eyeholes of the skull he wore.

"First strike counts the most! Heru, Double Team then Dig."

"Krookodile– ah, no, hold on."

Rain's eyes narrowed slightly while copies of Herumu appeared around the battlefield. White did seem the type of person to dither over what move to use, but she'd also been Champion, so perhaps she was actually preparing for something. The latter was confirmed true as all of the Cubones, fake or otherwise, vanished underground with Dig.

"Alright, got 'em now, Krookldile! Earthquake!" Krookodile stomped a foot against the ground, sending rumbling shockwaves rippling outwards. Rain, used to keeping her balance while Nido Earthquaked, barely even had to try to stay up, whereas White stumbled a little. Though when Herumu failed to be shot up out of the ground, confusion spread across the Unovan Trainer's face. "Huh? Where is it?"

"Oh, come on. Heru's training involves trying to stay under while Nido is shaking the ground. You think a little Earthquake like that will be enough? Oh, and by the way," she added, tone changing to a rather annoyed one, "Heru's a he, not an it."

"Little Earthquake? We'll show you! Do it again, Krookodile!"

Calling out in acknowledgement, the Ground and Dark type lifted a foot, then paused, that foot still in the air. A hole had opened up where that foot had just been, and Herumu's skull-clad head popped out, followed by his torso. Krookodile blinked at the Cubone, who stared back. Then the smaller Pokemon lifted his Thick Club and smashed it against his opponent's other foot. Krookodile shouted and hopped back, losing her balance and crashing to the ground. On Rain's command, Herumu kept her down with a Bonemerang long enough to pull himself out of the hole.

"Got get her, Heru!" the Rocket Agent encouraged. Her Cubone charged across the battlefield towards Krookodile, Thick Club being waved in the air. Ignoring her Trainer's command to "Get him with a Dragon Claw!", Krookodile jumped to her feet and took off running. Herumu gave chase.

" _Get back here so I can brain you, coward!_ " Rain heard her Cubone shout. Perhaps he had a slight problem... She could attempt to fix that later. Of course, that was what she told herself every time he battled. With a shrug, she crossed her arms and relegated herself to the role of spectator. Herumu could do this battle himself.

Another Bonemerang was sent at Krookodile, whizzing past her and curving back to knock her feet out from under her. She fell forward onto her stomach, while Herumu rushed forward to pick up his Thick Club. Then he fell upon his opponent, and it was all Krookodile could do to try to cover her head while Herumu attacked. He wasn't even using any moves, just mercilessly whacking her.

" _Stop it! Ow! Hey, cut it– owwww! I don't want to battle anymore!_ " Krookodile yelped.

"Heru, that's enough." The Cubone whined and trudged back to her side. To White, she said, "Your Krookodile doesn't want to battle anymore. Don't be cruel; call it back."

"How do you know what my Pokemon wants? Come on Krookodile, get up." The Pokemon shook her head. "Really? You don't want to keep fighting? Well...alright." As White aimed the Pokeball at Krookodile, she cast a glance at Rain. "How did you know?"

"Lucky guess," Black muttered from where he stood, off to the side of the battlefield. Rain glanced over, surprised to see Cynthia with him. She hadn't noticed the ex-Champion's arrival.

"Not a guess," she huffed. "Krookodile said so herself." She raised an eyebrow when Black and White shared a look. She was used to receiving reactions like Cynthia's mild expression of surprise and interest. "Hmph. Whatever. Just pick your next Pokemon, White."

"Alright. Here's one I know can stand up to your pipsqueak. Serperior!"

The serpentine Grass type practically leapt out of the Pokeball, coiling up with an excited hiss before staring regally down his nose at Herumu. The Cubone, for his part, glared back and waved his Thick Club. " _I'll make you_ _cry too, tough guy!_ " he threatened. Serperior regarded the small Pokemon with silent amusement and a touch of disdain.

"Get in close. Ice and fire," Rain commanded. Herumu raised his Thick Club and blew out a Blizzard, charging forward as he did so and using it as cover. She heard White call out for Serperior to Coil, just before her Cubone smashed a Fire Punch into the Grass type.

"Leaf Blade!" Before Herumu could leap back, Serperior whipped around, tail glowing green as it was smacked against the Cubone, sending him flying back. The Blizzard died down as well. Herumu flipped up to his feet and shouted angrily. "Get in there. Skull Bash." An almost maniacal gleam appeared in the Cubone's eyes as he ran forward, stabbing his Thick Club against the ground to vault himself into the air, shooting towards Serperior. The serpent lifted his head, a Leaf Storm gathering on White's command. Herumu flew through it as his trajectory began to arc downwards, taking the hits silently so he could bash his head against Serperior's. His opponent hissed and reared back, tail flicking around with another Leaf Blade that sent the Ground type tumbling away. He tried to rise, using his Thick Club for support, but collapsed as soon as he straightened up.

"Sunny Day. Then you're done, Heru. You've done your part. Time to come back."

" _No! I can still beat him to a pulp!_ " he protested as the sun began to beat down on the battlefield much stronger than normal.

"I won't have you getting yourself seriously hurt because you refuse to acknowledge you've been beaten." She held up a hand to signal a pause to the battle and stepped out onto the battlefield, scooping Herumu into her arms and pulling his Thick Club out of his grasp as he tried to whack her with it. "None of that now. Do you want to stay out to watch the rest of the battle?" He swiped his Thick Club back then leaned down to touch the button on his Pokeball, returning him. "Or you can go pout in your Pokeball. Big baby," she muttered under her breath before taking up another Pokeball. "Alright Coal. You know what to do once you're out." The navy blue and cream colored Typhlosion emerged with a roar, the ring of flames around the back of his neck flaring to life as he released an Eruption before his feet even hit the ground.

Serperior let out a wail of pain as the intense fire washed over him. When it dissipated, he swayed for a few seconds, then went limp, eyes turning to swirls. White recalled Serperior with a promise to take him straight to the Pokemon Center after the battle. In the serpent's place appeared a green-scaled, bipedal reptile with an ax blade one either side of her jaw. "Haxorus, Guillotine!"

"Playing that way are you? Smokescreen."

The Dragon type's charge came to a stumbling halt as she found herself surrounded by thick black smoke, her visibility reduced to practically nothing. White didn't seem too perturbed, however. "Earthquake!"

"Falling Stars," Rain countered. Coal dropped to all fours, clearly waiting for something. As soon as the ground began to tremble, he Defense Curled into a ball and bounced himself into the air, uncurling to release a barrage of star-shaped projectiles down into the Smokescreen, listening for his opponent's roar as the Swift struck home. Having pinpointed the location of his target, the Typhlosion began to glow white, shooting down towards Haxorus with a Giga Impact. The roar that sounded moments after Coal entered the Smokescreen was to be expected; what was unexpected was the source. His bellow fading away, Coal came tumbling out of the smoke, laying on the battlefield with swirls in his eyes.

"You're really good, Rain. But your Pokemon ran right into Guillotine!"

"Shoulda seen that coming," Rain groaned, stepping towards her Typhlosion as the Smokescreen began to dissipate. She crouched over him, running her fingers through his fur. "Sorry, Coal. I should have known to have you fight from a distance." He rumbled weakly, lifting his head to lick her cheek before dissolving into red light as she recalled him to his Pokeball, moving back to her spot. Her hand strayed towards her Lucario's Pokeball, only to stop as a different one shook. "You sure you want to fight?" More shaking. "Well, okay then." The shaking stopped as she grabbed the red and white capsule, hitting the button to let out the Pokemon inside. "I'm putting my faith in you, Emerald."

" _I won't let you down, Rain. I promise,_ " the Servine declared as he materialized.

"Guillotine, Haxorus!"

"Double Team and Growth." Rain glanced up, gauging how much longer the Sunny Day would remain in effect. She should have a few minutes still... Looking back at the battlefield, she was just in time to see the fierce Dragon type's glowing ax blades slice through a Double Team copy, and she grinned. "No making the mistake of getting close here. Stay at a distance, Emerald. Solar Beam."

"Earthquake."

"Jump and fire!"

The Servine leapt, shooting down a Solar Beam at Haxorus as the ground began to shake uselessly. As he started to fall, however, Haxorus moved beneath him. "Grab him with Dragon Claw," White shouted triumphantly.

"Emerald!" Rain's hands curled into fists as Haxorus grabbed the Servine, glowing claws digging roughly into him, and slammed him against the ground, pinning him down. He squirmed and writhed, but couldn't slip free.

"Guillotine!"

" _No! I promised I wouldn't let Rain down!_ " Emerald began to glow brightly, causing Haxorus to release him and step back in surprise. Rain squealed happily and ran out onto the battlefield, again, reaching the newly-evolved Serperior just as the glow faded from his form.

"Emerald! Did you do it just so you wouldn't lose the fight?" She threw her arms around the serpent.

" _I promised I wouldn't let you down._ " Emerald nudged her away. " _The battle's still on, Rain._ "

"Oh, right. Sorry about that." The Rocket Agent scurried back to her post. "Emerald, Solar Beam again."

"Take it, Haxorus, and get in close." The Dragon roared and barreled through the ray of energy, charging right towards Emerald with a Dragon Claw at the ready.

"Alright Emerald... Dragon Tail, now!"

The Serperior swung his glowing blue tail around to smack Haxorus across the chest, pausing her charge. Then she swiped out with Dragon Claw, being intercepted by another Dragon Tail. As claws pushed against tail, the Serperior twisted around on Rain's command to suddenly blast Dragon Pulse after Dragon Pulse into his opponent's face, until Haxorus slowly toppled with a groan.

"You beat me?!" White fumbled for a Pokeball, clearly shocked.

"Yeah! We beat an ex-Champ!" Emerald came slithering out to receive a hug from his Trainer. "You did really great, Emerald. So did Heru and Coal." He laid his head on her shoulder, hissing happily, and she rubbed a hand down his back, and shooting a glance around at the others. Black was regarding her with surprise, probably not having expected a Rocket to be so strong, while Cynthia was giving her a contemplative look. White just looked frustrated, and Rain couldn't blame her. That had been her second loss in a row, after all. She walked over with a smile, Emerald slithering alongside her, and held out a hand. "It was a really close match. If Emerald hadn't evolved, I'm sure you'd have won that. You really are an amazing Trainer, especially for your age. I had fun."

White gripped her hand and returned her smile, nodding. "I did too."

" _Alright, clear the field. My turn for some fun!_ " Nido bellowed, lumbering over to hoist Rain up over his head and carry her back to her spot at the end of the battlefield. Laughing, she grabbed Emerald's Pokeball to recall him, while Cynthia and White swapped places.

"Alright, Nido. Try not to be too rough, okay? I don't want to get in trouble for landing an ex-Champion's Pokemon in intensive care."

"My, you're confident," Cynthia remarked, letting out her Garchomp.

"I have reason to be. Nido, start off with an Earthquake." Rain slid into a crouch, stabilizing her center of balance just in time. The ground shook as Nido's powerful tail thumped against it repeatedly, making a crater in the shape of the appendage that grew deeper and deeper. Black and White both went down with yelps of shock, while Cynthia and Garchomp both ended up better off than the Unovan Trainers. The former had also dropped into a crouch, while the latter had bent over to dig the large claw that tipped each arm into the ground. "Perfect. While she's stuck, Avalanche!"

"Blast it away with Draco Meteor."

Garchomp tilted her head back as far as she could and launched the large orb of orangish energy at the icy rocks beginning to fall from holes that had opened up above her. The orb collided with one rock and burst apart, striking more rocks. Those that weren't reduced to chilly gravel were at least knocked off-course. However, while Garchomp's focus was on the Avalanche, Nido had stopped the Earthquake to thunder towards the Dragon and Ground type, shooting off a Dragon Pulse as he did so. The impact from the blast of Dragon energy tore Garchomp's claws free of the earth and flung her backwards. Rain held up a hand to stop her Nidoking from continuing, and stared hard at Cynthia. "Fight me with all you've got!" she demanded. "Stop holding back!"

The ex-Champion gave her a faint smile and a small nod, and suddenly Garchomp was up and charging towards Nido, zig-zagging to avoid more Dragon Pulses that were fired her way. She slipped around behind Nido, both claws slashing down and taking on the telltale glow of a Dragon Claw. Nido whirled around, his own claws glowing sickly purple with Poison Jab, and caught the attack with his own. The two Pokemon shoved and strained against each other, but it soon became clear which one had more physical strength when Garchomp was pushed back, inch by inch.

" _Rain! Rain, there's trouble!_ "

Rain's head shot up as The Watcher's voice rang through her mind. "Sorry, gonna have to pause this battle. I've got something to take care of," she called to Cynthia as she ran onto the battlefield. Nido and Garchomp broke apart, and the Rocket Agent grabbed one of her Nidoking's spines to swing herself against his back, holding on tightly as he took off running. The Watcher had telepathically sent directions to her while she did this, and now she shouted them to Nido.

With his surprising amount of speed, it didn't very long at all to reach the place the Gengar had directed them too. They'd ended up out of Undella Town and well away from the road, much to Rain's dismay. The Watcher hadn't specified what kind of trouble there was, but she was beginning to guess. A guess that turned out correct as she spotted the ring of Plasma Grunts and their Pokemon. Shadow Balls and Sludge Bombs flew outwards from a source within the ring, no doubt The Watcher trying to fend them all off. Nido bellowed. As one, the Plasma Grunts turned, then fumbled for Pokeballs to recall their Pokemon and fled. Rain dropped from his back before he'd come to a halt, rolling as she hit the ground, then sprang to her feet and dashed over to where N lay on the ground, The Watcher floating above him.

Drawing closer, she relaxed a little when she realized that he wasn't unconscious or seriously injured, but rather shielding a little bundle of black and red fur. A Pokemon? N looked up as she stopped beside him, a rather relieved expression on his face. She helped him up, then circled him, checking for wounds. "Are you okay?"

"Yes."

"Good. Then what the Distortion World were you thinking, going so far away from town?" She pursed her lips at him and placed her hands on her hips. In answer, he looked down at the little fox-like Pokemon he was still clutching to his chest. She blinked at it, taking a moment to realize it was a Zorua. Then she blinked again as she realized what it—what he, judging by the voice—was saying.

" _Big Brother..._ "

"N, is that...?" He nodded, stroking the tuft of fur atop the Zorua's head.

"It's Phantom."

"Team Plasma had him?" Rain held a hand in front of the Zorua, who leaned forward slightly sniff at her.

" _Rain. Company._ " His warning delivered, The Watcher floated over to sink back into her shadow.

Rain turned, lifting an eyebrow as she spotted Black and White approaching. They'd followed her? She folded her arms and waited, listening to N and Phantom behind her as they spoke happily to each other. Neither had seemed to notice the approaching pair of Trainers, but the same couldn't be said for Black and White, who both stopped in front of Rain and stared past her in surprise. "N?!"

Hearing his name, the teen glanced up from the Zorua in his arms, just as White pushed past Rain and stomped up to him. "Oh my Arceus, where have you _been_? It's been way too long!" She drew back a fist to slug him in the arm, no doubt a friendly gesture that was common for her. But he flinched back and Rain was instantly between the two, catching White's surprisingly gentle punch and twisting the Unovan off balance.

"Don't do that."

"Chill out," White said. "I wasn't going to actually hurt him."

"That doesn't matter. Don't do that again, or I will break your wrist," Rain hissed softly. "I don't know how you know N, but you–"

"Rain...it's alright," N cut in quietly. The Rocket Agent hesitated, then released her grip on White and stepped back, standing beside the green-haired male. "Hilda, Hilbert, it's nice to see you again."

"Actually, we like White and Black now." White grinned, but when she rubbed the hand that Rain had been gripping, she winced.

"It's been a long time, N. Years. Where have you been? And why are you with _her_?" Black jerked a thumb towards Rain.

"Hey!" Rain's cheeks puffed up in indignation. "I happen to be his friend!"

"You're a criminal."

"She's a what?" White looked from Black to Rain then back to Black.

"That is true, but at least I'm a real friend."

"What is that supposed to mean?" White demanded. "We're real friends too."

"You?" she shouted incredulously, her temper flaring. " _You?_ How _dare_ you call yourselves that! A real friend would have rescued him long before I came along!"

"Rescued? What are you talking about?"

"Rain." N's quavering voice was enough to make her back down. "They didn't know."

"Didn't know what?" Black and White shared a concerned glance.

Rain, still scowling, let out a slow sigh, forcing her scowl away. "This isn't the place for a long story. We've got a room at the Pokemon Center; let's go back there and I'll tell."She reached out to take N's elbow gently and give a small tug, indicating he should follow. "No more splitting up. They almost got you again. I know you're not going to want to hear this story be retold, but..."

"I know," he said quietly, still hugging Phantom to his chest.

"I'll keep it as brief as possible," she promised before jumping back onto Nido's back, clinging to him like a koala. "Let's go."

* * *

 _LDR: This chapter turned out way longer than planned, so it's actually being split up. I'll try my best to get the next one up quickly.  
_

 _Concerning Black and White... I haven't gotten to those chapters of Pokemon Adventures (best manga ever guys, seriously - read it) and this is mostly in the game world at the moment, so I'm just making up personalities for them. Also, White's team is the one I used in my playthrough of White version, minus Zekrom, and Black's team will be the one I used in my playthrough of Black version, minus Reshiram. I don't know yet if they'll become major parts of the story or not._

 _This AU has a weird timeline. So yes, I mentioned Rosa. But I've never played B2/W2, so I don't know all the details, just the general gist of what happened. Team Plasma's back but more badass, Ghetsis uses Kyurem to freeze part of Unova, and N is involved somehow. You've already seen the more badass Plasma in this AU - they're just higher ranked members than the silly knights. Since Plasma wasn't destroyed in the first place, there was no revival. Ghetsis did get Kyurem and did freeze part of Unova, but there was no involvement from N nor from Reshiram/Zekrom. How exactly things went down can be left up to your imagination as it's not really important for the story. The only part that matters is that Ghetsis lost in the end and Kyurem was set free._

 _So yeah. All that. LDR out!_


End file.
